Expression and prognostic significance of P53 protein during colorectal tumorigenesis

AIM To study expression and prognostic significance of P53 protein in colorectal tumors. METHODS We detected the p53 expression in 45 cases of colorectal adenomas and 61 cases of colorectal carcinomas by immunohistochemical staining. RESULTS The p53 positive rate was significantly higher in adenoma and carcinoma than the normals ( P 0 01). In colorectal adenoma, p53 expression increased with the increase of size and dysplasia, which was higher in adenomas ≥20mm than that 10mm (77 78% vs 35 00%, P 0 05). The p53 expression rate was 55 75% in colorectal carcinomas, but zero in normal mucosa. p53 expression was also related to differentiation degree and Dukes stage ( P 0 05). The survival rate in colorectal carcinoma decreased with the increase of p53 positive rate, with a significant negative relationship (65% group vs ≤25% group, P 0 05). CONCLUSION p53 is related to development of colorectal adenoma and colorectal carcinoma, and plays an important role in clinical diagnosis, treatment and prognostic evaluation.