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The expression of waf-1, p53 and bcl-2 in prostatic adenocarcinoma
R L Byrne1, C H Horne, M C Robinson
1Department of Surgery, Medical School, University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
Objective:
To determine the associations between the expression of waf-1 (a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor regulated by p53), p53, bcl-2 and tumour progression in prostate cancer.
Patients And Methods:
Samples of prostatic tissue were obtained by biopsy or at prostatectomy from 40 men (mean age 73 years, range 55-88) with histologically confirmed prostate cancer, examined using immunohistochemical staining for the three gene products, and the expression related to the stage, grade, disease progression and survival of the patients.
Results:
Fifteen of 18 patients whose tumours were positive for waf-1, 10 of 12 positive for bcl-2 and 17 of 19 positive for p53 had disease progression. Fifteen of 19 patients positive for p53 had poorly differentiated tumours compared with 11 of 21 negative for p53 (P < 0.05). A significant number of patients positive for p53 progressed and had a shorter time to progression compared to those negative for p53 (P < 0.05). There was no correlation between either waf-1 and/or bcl-2 staining and clinical grade, stage or tumour progression.
Conclusions:
This study confirmed the association of p53 protein accumulation with aggressive behaviour in prostate cancer and identified waf-1 protein in prostatic tumours. There was no evidence that the upregulation of waf-1 was associated with a better outcome in patients with prostate cancer.