IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL DETECTION OF P53 PROTEIN IN HUMAN PROSTATIC-CANCER

Tissue sections from 73 radical-prostatectomy specimens were studied i mmunohistochemically for the presence of p53 protein. In seven specime ns numerous tumor cells showed a strong nuclear immunostaining. An add itional 27 revealed a more discrete and focal accumulation of p53 prot ein. Comparison of the pathologic characteristics of the p53-negative and -positive groups showed that the presence of p53 protein closely c orrelated with more advanced tumor stages (p <0.00001), with higher pr imary (p 0.0004), combined (p <0.0001) and worst (p <0.0001) Gleason g rades, and with larger total (p = 0.0001) and high-grade (p <0.0001) t umor volumes. No staining was found in areas of benign hyperplasia or in well-differentiated tumor zones. Our results suggest that the accum ulation of p53 protein to immunohistochemically detectable concentrati ons is not a feature of low-grade cancer. This finding implies that ab normal p53 accumulation might be involved in the process of prostatic cancer progression.