[Relationship between expressions of p53, c-erbB2 genes, proliferating cell nuclear antigen and prognosis of patients with ovarian epithelial carcinoma].

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: There were a few reports about the relationship between the expressions of p53, c-erbB2 Genes, and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) with the prognosis from the patients with ovarian epithelial carcinoma(EOC). But conclusions were difference because of various methods and samples. This study was designed to investigate the relationship between the expressions of p53, c-erbB2 Genes, and PCNA with the prognosis from the patients with EOC.

MATERIALS & METHODS: A total of 84 female patients with EOC were enrolled in this study, who were hospitalized in Department of Gynecology, Cancer Center, Sun yat-sen University from March 1 1990 to March 31 1994. The expressions of p53, c-erbB-2, and PCNA from the tumor samples were detected by Labelling-streptavidin-biotin (LSAB) immunohistochemistry assay. The relationship between the expression of the above marks and the prognosis of the patients were then analyzed. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 8.0 softwave.

RESULTS

Forty-nine tumor samples (58.3%) exhibited p53 overexpression, 65 (77.4%) exhibited c-erbB2 overexpression, and all (100%) exhibited PCNA overexpression. In univariate analysis, there was marginally significant difference in the mean survival, the 5 years survival between the patients exhibited no c-erbB2 overexpression and the patients exhibited any c-erbB2 overexpression (P = 0.05). There was significant difference in the mean survival, the 5 years survival between the patients showed lower expression of PCNA and those showed higher expression of PCNA (P < 0.01), and there was no significant difference in the mean survival, the 5 years survival between the patients with overexpression of p53 and without overexpression of p53 (P > 0.05). In multivariate analysis, only stage and histological grade were the important significant prognostic factors of the patients with EOC, and there was no statistical significance between the overexpression of c-erbB-2 and PCNA with the prognosis.

CONCLUSIONS

There was no significant correlation between the overexpression of p53 gene and the prognosis of the patients with EOC. The expression of c-erbB2 or PCNA was not an independent prognostic factor for prognosis of the patients with EOC. Stage and histological grade were still the independent significant prognostic factors of EOC.