p53 Protein expression in meningiomas - a clinicopathologic study of 55 patients

Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded surgical specimens from 55 meningiomas were immunostained with monoclonal antibody against p53 (Immunotech, Marseilles, France). There were 38 women and 17 men ranging between 9 and 82 years of age. The patients were divided into two groups: group I (47 patients) - mildly symptomatic and group II (eight patients) - severe initial symptoms. There were 43 WHO grade I, 11 WHO grade II, and one WHO grade III meningiomas according to the 1999 WHO classification of brain tumors. In group A (n=49), the tumors were attached to the dura mater of the skull base, and in group B (n=6) they were not. Tumor volume ranged from 1.23 cm(3) to 303.37 cm(3). Peritumoral edema was classified into three grades: grade 0 (n=28) no or minimum edema, grade I (n=19) edema reaches at least half of one cerebral hemisphere, and grade II (n=8) holohemispheric edema. Immunostaining for p53 was found in the neuronal nuclei of 18 meningiomas. It was not correlated with gender, age, anatomical location, tumor volume, degree of peritumoral edema, or Simpson's resection grade. Labeling for p53 was observed in 9/12 meningiomas of WHO grades II or III and was correlated with severity of symptoms (P=0.033) and histological grade (P=0.0009). Immunolocalization of p53 was not correlated with the degree of malignancy.