[The relation between p53 expression and lymph node metastasis of breast cancer]

The monoclonal antibody to p53 and a rapid immunohistochemical method were used in this study to detect p53 expression in 50 paraffin-embedded breast cancers and 7 benign hyperplastic diseases of breast. The results of immunostaining showed that 12 (24%) cases of breast cancers were positive and all benign lesions were negative. No significant difference was found between primary and metastatic sites of 11 paired samples of breast cancers in p53 expression, suggesting that the abnormal expression of had p53 occurred before lymph node metastasis of breast cancer. Statistical analysis revealed that the abnormal expression of p53 was significantly correlated with lymph node metastasis of breast cancer (P < 0.005) and also correlated with medullary breast cancer in which two of four cases strongly positive to p53 had lymph node metastasis. Our results indicate that the abnormal expression of p53 is not only involved in the development, but also involved in the metastasis of breast cancer. Therefore, detection of p53 expression may have significant clinical importance in the evaluation of the tendency of lymphatic metastasis of breast cancer.