P53 PROTEIN OVEREXPRESSION IN LUNG ADENOCARCINOMAS IN NONSMOKERS - POSSIBLE ASSOCIATION WITH ENVIRONMENTAL TOBACCO-SMOKE

Greater than 55% of all lung cancers contain mutations in the p53 tumo r suppressor gene, and the frequency of p53 mutations has been directl y correlated with the use of tobacco and the smoking of cigarettes. To determine if environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) is associated with cha nges in p53 expression in human lung cancer in never-smokers, we deter mined the degree of p53 protein expression in ten lung tumors from nev er-smokers exposed to ETS. We show that 5 of 8 (62.5%) adenocarcinomas contained significant levels of p53 protein overexpression as detecte d by immunohistochemical staining. While these findings suggest that E TS is a possible inducer of altered p53 expression in lung adenocarcin oma in non-smokers, larger studies are needed to confirm this relation ship.