Ras and p53 expression in non-small-cell lung-cancer patients - p53 over-expression correlates with a poor prognosis

Expression of the tumor suppressor gene p53 and the ras oncogene were examined in 46 tumor and nodal specimens of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) using the antibodies p53 pAb 240 and ras Y13-259 respectively. p53 expression was elevated in 46% and ras p21 was over-expressed in 85% of the tumor specimens analyzed. Fifteen cases of benign lessions were also assessed for both ras p21 and p53 expression; all were found to have negative staining. p53 over-expression was found to correlate with a poor prognosis in both the tumor specimens (p<0.05) and in the nodal tissues (p<0.005). Ras p21 over-expression was found to be associated with survival (p<0.1) in both the tumor and the nodal specimens. Stage of the disease correlated with survival; similarly both p53 and ras p21 over-expression correlated with stage. No correlations were found with the pathological grade of the tumors nor with a history of smoking or duration of smoking. No K-ras mutations at codon 12 were observed in a further 15 NSCLC specimens analyzed. These results indicate that the p53 gene in particular plays a role in the stages of NSCLC.