[Immunohistochemical study of p21 expression in gastric carcinoma]

In this study, the expression of p21 protein was investigated immunohistochemically in 152 patients with gastric cancer. Expression of p21 was detected in 64 tumors (42.1%). There were significant differences among the expression of p21, histologic type, depth of invasion, lymph node metastasis, liver metastasis, and peritoneal metastasis. The deeper the tumor invaded, the more frequent p21 expression increased. Of the 152 patients, lymph node, liver and peritoneal metastasis were found in 86, 13 and 23 patients, respectively. p21 expression was more frequently lost in tumors from patients with metastasis. In relation to prognosis, patients with p21-positive tumors had a significantly better prognosis than those with p21-negative tumors. In conclusion, this study suggested that expression of p21 has a prognostic value in gastric cancer.