Abstract

Mutant p53 is associated with the advanced stages of some human tumor but there is a wide variation in the reported incidence of p53 mutation in renal cell carcinoma and its prognostic significances. We designed this study to assess the expression of p53 in renal cell carcinomas and to compare with the established prognostic factors. Immunoreactivity for p53 protein and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) were assessed in 44 cases of primary renal cell carcinoma, and flow cytometric analysis of DNA ploidy was perfon-ned in 37 of those cases. p53 protein was over-expressed in 16/44 (36.4%) renal cell carcinomas and 5 rumors had more than 10 immunoreactive tumor cells. The expression of p53 protein was positively related to nuclear grade (p=0.007) and PCNA index (p=0.002), but was independent of stage and DNA ploidy. In univariate survival analysis, stage (p<0.001), nuclear grade (p=0.017), DNA ploidy (p=0.045) and PCNA index (p<0.001) were significantly associated with patient survival. However, considering the stage, all of the last three factors had no prognostic influence. Cases showing strong positivity of p53 expression had worse prognosis than those with no or weak p53 expression, especially in early lesions (stage I,II) (p<0.001).

• Keywords: Renal cell carcinoma;p53;PCNA;DNA ploidy;Stage;Prognosis