Neoangiogenesis and relationship to nuclear p53 accumulation and vascular endothelial growth factor expression in advanced gastric carcinoma.

Recent studies have shown that tumor suppressor genes, particularly p53, may play a crucial regulatory role in the control of angiogenesis. Accordingly, we analyzed the correlation between p53 accumulation and the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and microvessel counts in a series of human gastric adenocarcinomas by immunohistochemical staining. p53 expression was absent in 35 cases (29.7%), weak in 34 cases (28.8%), moderate in 35 cases (29.7%), and strong in 14 cases (11.8%). The prognosis of patients with both absent and weak expression of p53 was significantly better than that of patients with both moderate and strong expression of p53. VEGF expression was significantly associated with increased p53 expression. Moreover, increasing expression of p53 significantly correlated with an increase in microvessel counts. Nuclear p53 accumulation may correlate with tumor angiogenesis through VEGF upregulation in gastric carcinomas.