Association of p53 protein expression in stage I lung adenocarcinoma with reference to cytological subtypes.

Since the nuclear accumulation of p53 protein is known to correspond well with mutation of the p53 tumor-suppressor gene, we analyzed the p53 protein immunohistochemically with the anti-p53 mouse monoclonal antibody, DO-7, in 105 stage I lung adenocarcinomas. The p53 immunoreactivity was detected in the nuclei of cancer cells in 51 cases (49%). The p53-positive cases had a significantly poorer prognosis compared with the p53-negative cases (log-rank test; P < .001) When p53 expression was compared among the cytological subtypes of adenocarcinoma, the incidence of p53 expression in the bronchial surface epithelial cell type (11 of 15) was significantly higher than in the goblet cell type (1 of 6) and tended to be higher than the Clara cell/alveolar type II pneumocyte type (27 of 59). These findings indicate that immunohistochemical examination of the p53 protein is a potential prognostic factor in stage 1 lung adenocarcinomas, and that p53 expression has been associated with the cytological subtype.