Prognostic significance of circulating P53 antibodies in patients undergoing surgery for locoregional breast cancer.

P53 mutations can lead to the production of P53 antibodies in serum of cancer patients. Here we studied the prognostic value of P53 antibodies in 353 primary breast cancer patients. P53 antibodies were detected in 42 cases (12%) and were negatively related to oestradiol and progesterone receptors. The median duration of follow-up for live patients was 5.3 years. In actuarial analyses, overall survival was worse in patients with P53 antibody (p < 0.0005); in Cox's multivariate analysis, P53 antibody was an independent prognostic variable. Thus plasma assay of P53 antibody would be useful to select rapidly and easily a population of patients with poor prognosis.