RADIOCHEMOSENSITIVITY AND EXPRESSION OF P53 IN PATIENTS WITH ESOPHAGEAL CANCER TREATED BY ABSOLUTE NONCURATIVE RESECTION

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the expression of p53 protein and radiochemosensitivity in patients with a dvanced esophageal cancer. We analyzed the expression of p53 protein b y an immunohistochemical method in tumors from 28 patients with advanc ed esophageal cancer who had been treated by absolute noncurative rese ction. Four patients died from postoperative complications. Fourteen o f the remaining 24 patients were treated with postoperative radiochemo therapy. The expression of p53 protein was detected in tumors from 16 of 28 patients (57.1%). The mean survival period was 16.4 months for 1 4 patients treated with radiochemotherapy, as compared to 6.9 months f or 10 patients who were not treated with radiation therapy (P=0.112). In the case of the 14 patients treated with radiochemotherapy, the mea n survival period was 24.7 months for seven patients with p53-negative tumors while it was only 8 months for seven patients with p53-positiv e tumors. However, difference was not statistically significant (P=0.1 49). Postoperative radiochemotherapy prolonged the survival of some pa tients with noncuratively operated esophageal tumors that were p53-neg ative. However, the enhanced survival was not statistically significan t.