P53, PROLIFERATING CELL NUCLEAR ANTIGEN, AND KI-67 EXPRESSION IN EXTRAUTERINE LEIOMYOSARCOMAS

Extrauterine leiomyosarcomas, because of their relative rarity, are po orly understood in regards to their malignant potential and biologic m arkers. Many human tumors are characterized by overexpression of p53, a tumor suppressor protein, and by expression of nuclear proteins asso ciated with proliferation, such as proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and Ki-67. We examined expression of these markers in 44 extrau terine leiomyosarcomas from 10 men and 25 women who ranged in age from 25 to 82 years (mean, 56 yr). Clinical follow-up was obtained in 34 ( 97%) of 35 patients. p53 expression was studied with two monoclonal an tibodies (1801, D07) by use of an antigen retrieval method, p53 overex pression was present in 19 (43%) of 44 cases, whereas Ki-67 and PCNA s taining were seen in 29 (66%) and 36 (82%) of 44 cases, respectively. There was no correlation between overall survival or recurrence and p5 3 or PCNA and Ki-67 expression. We conclude that p53, Ki-67, and PCNA are expressed in a large number of extrauterine leiomyosarcomas. In th is study, the expression of these markers did not predict biologic beh avior.