Va. Florenes et al., ACCUMULATION OF P53 PROTEIN IN HUMAN-MALIGNANT MELANOMA - RELATIONSHIPS TO CLINICAL OUTCOME, Melanoma research, 5(3), 1995, pp. 183-187
Paraffin-embedded tissue from the primary tumours of 116 patients with
malignant melanoma, and in 40 cases also from corresponding metastase
s, were examined for accumulation of p53 protein. The fraction of tumo
urs with positive p53 immunostaining was 13% in the least invasive and
36% in the most invasive primary lesions and 48% in the metastases. W
here comparisons could be made, both the level and pattern of p53 immu
noreactivity were the same in the primary and metastatic tumours. Nine
(50%) patients with p53-positive and 34 (39%) with p53-negative prima
ries relapsed during the first 5 years, but no difference in disease-f
ree period was observed between the two groups. However, an overall lo
nger survival time was observed among patients with p53-positive prima
ries, especially for those with tumours less invasive than 3.0 mm. Not
ably, all 11 patients in this group were alive 5 years after diagnosis
of the disease, whereas 15 out of 70 (21%) patients with p53-negative
tumours died in same period. The results show tht an increased level
of p53 protein does not indicate increased degree of malignancy in mel
anoma, but rather suggests a more favourable disease progression.