P53 DETECTION AS A PROGNOSTIC FACTOR IN EARLY GASTRIC-CANCER

Immunohistochemical detection of p53 was performed in archival materia l of 129 early gastric cancers. Positive staining was detected in 22.5 % (29/129) of the cases. No significant association could be establish ed with any clinicopathological criteria but a trend of a higher rate of p53 detection was observed among large tumors (>6 cm) and in cases with lymph node involvement. Prognosis was significantly worse for pat ients with p53-positive staining tumors. The 5-year survival rate was 92.1% for patients with p53-negative tumors and 71.2% for those with p ositive malignancies (p=0.001). p53 detection and lymph node involveme nt emerged as independent prognostic factors in a Cox model including other clinicopathological criteria. Immunochemical detection of p53 ma y become an important aid in the preoperative evaluation of patients w ith early gastric cancer.