Mutant p53 tumour suppressor gene and
c-erbB-2 proto-oncogene are involved in human
carcinogenesis, and their protein product detection in
human malignancies might influence the evolution of
many neoplasms. Our aim was to estimate their
association with histopathological and clinical
parameters of prognostic value in colorectal cancer.
An immunohistochemical assay was undertaken in
formalin-fixed sections from tissue specimens of 60
colorectal carcinomas. Nuclear p53 expression was
detected in 46.6%, while membranic c-erbB-2 positivity
was noticed in 35% of the examined cases. P53
positivity rate significantly correlated with poor
differentiation (p<0.001), high mitotic activity
(p<0.0001), tumour stage (p<0.001) and 5-year overall
survival period (p<0.01). C-erbB-2 positivity incidence
significantly correlated with advanced Dukes' stage
(p<0.001) and high mitotic activity (p<0.05). Significant
association between p53 and c-erbB-2 immunostaining
was observed (p<0.05) and p531c-erbB-2 CO-expression
was related to poor differentiation (p<0.001), high
mitotic activity (p<0.00 l), advanced Dukes' stage
(p<0.001), tumour aneuploidy (p<0.05) and worse
overall survival ( ~ ~ 0 . 0 5 ) .
P53 and c-erbB-2 immunohistochemical detection in
combination with known prognostic indicators may be a
useful future tool in determining colorectal cancer
prognosis and subsequently in deciding on optimal
postoperative treatments