Expression of p53, MDM2 protein and Ki-67 antigen in recurrent meningiomas

Association of p53 gene abnormalities with tumor progression and prognosis of many neoplasms has been demonstrated, but little is known about the clinical significance of p53 abnormalities in meningiomas. The significance of p53 protein expression in recurrent meningiomas and its relationships with MDM2 protein and proliferation activity were investigated by analyzing 39 meningiomas immunohistochemically. p53 protein was expressed in 11 (35%) of 31 non-recurrent and 7 (88%) of 8 recurrent meningiomas. A high frequency of p53 expression was observed in recurrent meningiomas, which tended to have a high p53 positive index (p53 PI), indicating that p53 immunoreactivity may be a marker for predicting tumor recurrence. Four recurrent meningiomas with high p53 PIs were analyzed by the polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism method to detect p53 gene mutations, but none were found in exons 4–8 of this gene. Fifteen (71%) of 21 MDM2-positive and 3 (17%) of 18 MDM2-negative tumors expressed p53 protein, showing that MDM2 expression was more common in meningiomas with p53 expression. p53 immunoreactivity in the absence of mutation may indicate stabilization of the wild type through interaction with the MDM2 protein. The Ki-67/MIB-1 proliferation index (MIB-1 PI) correlated well with recurrence. The p53-positive tumors had a significantly higher mean MIB-1 PI than p53-negative tumors, suggesting that wild-type p53 inactivation by the MDM2 protein may be involved in controlling the proliferative activity in meningiomas. In conclusion, immunohistochemical examination for p53 protein as well as proliferative activity may help predict the malignant potential of tumor recurrence.