Serum p53 autoantibodies in the follow-up of head and neck cancer patients

p53 autoantibodies (AAB) are a fairly new serological parameter in patients with malignancies. Although the actual mechanism of how they develop is st ill unclear, it seems that these AAB could be of prognostic relevance. Very few studies demonstrated the usefulness of p53 AAB in the follow-up of can cer patients. In this study, 109 patients with head and neck cancer were in vestigated using an ELISA for the presence of p53 AAB in their serum and we re followed-up for at least 36 months. In 21 of the cancer patients, p53 se rum AAB were detected. In 5/21 p53-seropositive AAB patients, a correlation with the clinical course was observed. Sixteen of the p53-positive patient s did not show any significant AAB titer changes during the follow-up, and no significant correlation with the critical course was seen. According to these results, the clinical value of p53 AAB in the follow-up of patients w ith head and neck cancer seems to be limited. Copyright (C) 2000 S. Karger AG, Basel.