Comparative immunohistochemical study of ras-p21 oncoprotein in adenomatous hyperplasia and adenocarcinoma of the prostate gland.

The present study assessed the immunohistochemical expression of ras p21 oncoprotein in 41 cases of benign and cancerous lesions of the prostate gland and correlated p21 expression with survival of patients operated for prostate cancer. Our results show that p21 is detected in both categories of patients, the expression being weak in adenomatous hyperplasia and more intense in cancer. We were also able to show an inverse relation between ras p21 positivity and the degree of differentiatin. Follow-up study revealed a statistically significant (p < 0.05) correlation between 5 year survival and p21 expression.