Clinical significance of immunohistochemical detection of p53 protein in pleural effusion and bronchial specimen.

Abstract

To explore the usefulness of p53 immunohistochemical staining as a marker of malignancy in the diagnosis of lung cancer. The expression of p53 in 57 samples of pleural effusion and 69 bronchial biopsy specimens was investigated by immunohistochemical method. p53 was well preserved in the samples of pleural effusion. p53 positive rate was 0%(0/27) ,33.3 %(2/6) and 54.2%(13/24) respectively in cytologically benign , suspicious but not conclusively malignant and malignant pleural effusion. Benign pleural effusion referred as tuberculous and other inflammatory effusion. p53 poisitive rate was 0%(0/23) ,14.3 %(1/7) and 35.9 % (14/39) in histologically benign , atypical proliferating and malignant bronchial biopsy sample. The cases with p53 immunoreactivity were proved to have lung cancer after follow-up in cytologically suspicious but not conclusively malignant pleural effusion and histologically atypical proliferating bronchial biopsy sample. p53 immunostaining could be useful as a marker of malignancy in the cytologic examination of pleural effusion and bronchial biopsy sample. The presence of p53 immunoreactivity in these samples is strongly suggestive of malignancy , though its absence does not exclude neoplasms.