Accumulation of p53 in relation to long-term prognosis in colorectal carcinoma

Objective: To evaluate the prognostic value of p53 in colorectal cancer. Design: A retrospective study to investigate the correlation between p53 in tumour tissue and the course of patients' disease. Patients: One hundred and two patients who underwent radical surgery for colorectal cancer and were followed up for a minimum of 5 years, or until death, were included in this study. Methods: The p53 expression in tumour tissue was studied by immunohistochemistry using CM1 polyclonal rabbit antibody and formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded material. Results: p53 accumulation was detected in 46% (47/102) of the tumours. There was no significant difference in long-term survival between the patients with p53 positive and negative tumours (P = 0.86). Five-year survival rates were 55% for p53 positive tumours compared with 56% for patients with p53 negative tumours. However, patients with p53 overexpressing tumours showed a higher local recurrence rate than those having carcinomas with undetectable levels of p53, 23% versus 9% respectively; the 2-year actuarial rates of 26% and 9% were statistically different (P = 0.015). Conclusion: The results suggest that in colorectal carcinoma accumulation of p53 is not associated with a difference in long-term prognosis. However, this phenomenon might be useful in the identification of patients with a high risk of local recurrence.