p53 immunostaining pattern in Brazilian patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

• Main Authors: Venâncio Avancini Ferreira Alves, Marcelo Eidi Nita, Flair José Carrilho, Suzane Kioko Ono-nita, Alda Wakamatsu, Dárcio Matenhauer Lehrbach, Maria Fernanda Pimentel de Carvalho, Evandro Sobroza de Mello, Luiz Carlos da Costa Gayotto, Luiz Caetano da Silva
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade de São Paulo (USP) 2004
• Subjects: Liver cancer; p53; Cell cycle; Apoptosis; Hepatitis B; Hepatitis C; Immunohistochemistry; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Infectious and parasitic diseases; RC109-216; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doaj.org/article/1a18ab15d4e44450a47ed9f3c3994933

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is an important type of cancer etiologically related to some viruses, chemical carcinogens and other host or environmental factors associated to chronic liver injury in humans. The tumor suppressor gene p53 is mutated in highly variable levels (0-52%) of HCC in different countries. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the present study was to compare the frequency of aberrant immunohistochemical expression of p53 in HCC occurring in cirrhotic or in non-cirrhotic patients as well as in liver cell dysplasia and in adenomatous hyperplasia. We studied 84 patients with HCC or cirrhosis. RESULTS: We detected p53 altered immuno-expression in 58.3% of patients in Grade III-IV contrasting to 22.2% of patients in Grade I-II (p = 0.02). Nontumorous areas either in the vicinity of HCC or in the 30 purely cirrhotic cases showed no nuclear p53 altered expression, even in foci of dysplasia or adenomatous hyperplasia. No significant difference was found among cases related to HBV, HCV or alcohol. CONCLUSION: The high frequency of p53 immunoexpression in this population is closer to those reported in China and Africa, demanding further studies to explain the differences with European and North American reports.