2004 Volume 49 Issue 1+2 Pages 33-38
This study was designed to provide quantitative analysis using flow cytometry (FCM) and immunohistochemical analysis (IH) for p53 protein in 85 patients who underwent pulmonary resection for non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). We also examined the relationship among numerical aberrations of chromosome 17 and p53 locus, clinicopathological parameters and patient prognosis in NSCLC. PAb 1801 was used as the primary antibody for p53 and the Fluorescence Index (F.I.) was calculated by FCM. Fifty-six patients (66%) showed a higher F.I. (≥0.5), and had a higher rate of lymph node metastasis, more advanced stage and poor survival, while a positive expression of p53 protein by IH was associated with no clinicopathologic factors or patient survival. The F.I. of p53 protein was significantly higher in cases with imbalanced numbers between chromosome 17 and the p53 locus, particularly in patients with higher F.I. This indicated that quantitative analysis by FCM was the most useful method to detect the over-expression of p53 protein compared to that by IH. Higher F.I. (≥0.5) is a prognostic indicator for predicting malignant behavior and poor survival in patients with NSCLC.
