P53 PROTEIN IN AGGRESSIVE AND NONAGGRESSIVE BASAL-CELL CARCINOMA

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most frequent cutaneous neoplasm, wi th a generally favorable clinical behavior. Sometimes, indeed, it recu rs after therapy and/or metastasizes. As point mutations in the coding sequence of the p53 tumor suppressor gene have been implicated in the progression of many human tumors, we studied the expression of p53 pr otein on this neoplasia. We tested immunohistochemically the positivit y for p53 protein (NCL-p53-CM1, YLEM) on 19 cases of morphologically ' 'non aggressive'' BCC (BCC1) and on 19 ''aggressive'' BCC (BCC2), all with one or more relapses and 3 with distant metastases also. Results were related to clinico-pathological and follow-up data. All but one B CC2 were found positive for p53 protein. Conversely, only 2 cases of B CC1 exhibited low immunoreactivity for p53 protein, with high statisti cal differences between the two groups. No correlation was found betwe en the immunoreactivity, age of patients, and site of the lesions. The availability of immunohistochemistry and the relatively easy interpre tation of the results make screening for p53 protein a possibly useful tool in the prognostic evaluation of BCC.