[The pattern of p53 oncoprotein expression in gastric cancer patients]

The p53 gene mutation or p53 oncoprotein overexpression are the most common genetic alterations in human tumors. Its expression is known to be present in a number of tumors however, its prognostic value in gastric cancer is uncertain. The authors studied the pattern of p53 oncoprotein expression in 45 advanced gastric cancer cases. Statistically, the correlation between p53 expression and histologic type of the tumors was significant (p < 0.001): 84% of the intestinal type tumors showed positivity, in half of those (15/31, 48.3%) the positivity involved almost all of the nuclei. This is much higher than any other data in the literature. Moreover, significant correlation was found between tumor stages pT2-3 and p53 oncoprotein expression. There was no significant correlation between lymph node involvement, as one of the most important prognostic factors, and p53 expression. Their results show that the pattern of p53 gene mutation in these gastric cancer patients differs from international data, which might be caused by certain carcinogenic effects: e.g. nutritional customs characteristic of Hungary.