ANALYSIS OF PROLIFERATION MARKERS AND P53 EXPRESSION IN GLIOMAS OF ASTROCYTIC ORIGIN - RELATIONSHIPS AND PROGNOSTIC VALUE

Consecutive paraffin sections of 105 astrocytomas and 15 oligoastrocyt omas were examined for expression of p53, MIB-1 (Ki-67), and prolifera ting cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). The tumors had been examined previou sly for genetic abnormalities and by flow cytometry. Regardless of the tumor's stage and grade and the patient's age and gender, p53 express ion was found in 40% of tumors. Although p53 expression was associated with a loss on chromosome 17p and was more frequent in aneuploid tumo rs, it had no association with survival time. The MIB-1 and PCNA label ing indices increased with increasing tumor grade but showed no associ ation with other clinicopathological parameters. In individual tumors, there was poor concordance between any of the variables (MIB-1, PCNA, and p53). Results for p53 and MIB-1 were similar for both astrocytoma s and oligoastrocytomas. The MIB-1 and PCNA values appeared to have pr ognostic utility in univariate analysis but not after adjusting for pa tient age and tumor grade. The poor concordance between MIB-1 and PCNA in individual tumors indicates that any one means of assessing prolif erative potential in gliomas may not be reliable.