p53 in epidermoid cancer of the esophagus

Wild type p53 protein has an inhibitory effect on cell proliferation and transformation. Mutation or deletion of the p53 gene can be the first point of malignancy. Abnormalities of the p53 protein gene have been linked with tumors of the esophagus.

In this study, we investigated the expression of the p53 gene in epidermoid carcinoma of the esophagus as well as in the basal layer near the tumor. We studied the expression of p53 in 24 esophageal tumors and in normal esophageal tissue near the tumor in 16 cases, using an immunohistochemical reaction.

p53 was positive in 18 esophageal tumors (75%) and in 15 of the 16 (94%) normal samples of esophageal tissue. There was no correlation between expression of the p53 gene and age, sex, tobacco intake, alcoholism, and familiar history of cancer or clinical stage of the disease. The mean survival of the p53 patients (negative or positive) was similar.

p53 accumulation was found in most cases of esophageal cancer as well as in samples of normal tissue close to the tumor. The positivity of p53 seems to be independent of clinical or pathological parameters and was not of any use in predicting prognosis in our study.