Expression of p53 and p21waf1/cip1 in gastric carcinoma: lack of inter-relationship or correlation with prognosis.

AIMS: The cell cycle regulators p53 and p21waf1/cip1 are expressed variably in human cancers. We investigated their expression in gastric carcinoma and determined their inter-relationship and prognostic significance. METHODS: Immunohistochemistry was used to determine their expression in material from 100 resected specimens of gastric carcinoma, and comparison was then made of the degree of expression between each, with conventional clinicopathological indices and with survival. RESULTS: Positivity was found with p53 (40%) and p21 (75%). There was no significant correlation between the expression of each individual marker, nor between each marker and 5-year survival. There appeared to be an association between p53 expression and lymph node metastases, and a higher frequency of p21waf1/cip1 expression in males. CONCLUSIONS: The expression of p53 and p21waf1/cip1 as detected by immunohistochemistry were of no value in predicting the prognosis of patients with gastric carcinoma.