Expression of p53 and PCNA in non-small cell lung cancer and its clinical significance

Objective To explore the expression levels of p53 gene and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA)and their relationship to invasion and prognosis of human non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC) .Methods The expression levels of p53 and PCNA were examined by immunohistochemistry in 65 non-small cell lung cancer samples. Kaplan-Meier method was used for analysis. Results The positive immunostaining rate for p53 was 80. 0%(52/65) and high-expression rate was 60.0% (39/65) . Patients in the group with low expression seemed to have longer survival time than those in the high-expression group, but the difference was not significant ( P 0.05) . The positive immunostaining rate for PCNA was 86.2%(56/65) ?and the high-expression rate was 60.0% (39/65) .Patients in the low-expression group obviously lived longer than those in high-expression group, and the difference was significant P 0.05). The positive immunostaining rate for both p53 and PCNA was 38.5 % (25/ 65) and the negative immunostaining rate for both p53 and PCNA was 15.4%(10/65) .Patients in the group with negative immunostaining for both p53 and PCNA obviously lived longer than those in the positive immunostaining group, and the difference was significant P 0.05) . Conclusion p53 and PCNA are associated with the occurrence and development of NSCLC. The expression of p53 and PCNA is a marker of the poor prognosis in the non-small cell lung cancer.