Published in:
01-11-2009 | Original Paper
Correlation of p53, MDM2 and p14ARF protein expression in human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma
Published in: Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology | Issue 11/2009
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Purpose
To determine the interrelationships of p53, MDM2, and p14ARF protein expression in primary esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and their prognostic value in ESCC.
Methods
In total, 119 patients treated for ESCC with esophagectomy were enrolled in this study. Demographic and clinical data including gender, age, depth of tumor invasion, lymph node involvement, and 5-year survival rate were collected by chart review. p53, MDM2, and p14ARF were detected immunohistochemically in the resected tumors to evaluate their usefulness as biomarkers of clinical outcome.
Results
p53, MDM2, and p14ARF were expressed in 61 (51.3%), 34 (28.6%), and 22 (18.5%) of 119 tumor specimens, respectively. Overall, p53 protein expression was positively correlated with MDM2 (P = 0.024) and p14ARF expression (P = 0.026). In addition, p14ARF expression was most often found in specimens that were positive for both p53 and MDM2. Changes in the p53, MDM2, and p14ARF protein levels were not correlated with 5-year survival rate.
Conclusions
Expression of p53 protein correlates with increased MDM2 and p14ARF protein levels in ESCC. In addition, status of p53 (wild-type versus mutant) rather than expression level of p53, MDM2, or p14ARF is likely to be the more critical determinant of clinical outcome.