FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH P53 NUCLEAR ACCUMULATION IN PROSTATIC ADENOCARCINOMA

Prostatic adenocarcinoma is an age-related cancer. The extremely high proportion of this disease with advanced age merits the study of age-dependent carcinogenesis. TP53 is considered a common target for carcinogenic agents including exogenous carcinogens as well as endogenous mutagens. Mutations of this gene are reported to be the most frequent nuclear abnormalities in human cancer. In order to investigate the relationship between age and altered patterns of p53 expression, we have analyzed a group of 48 patients with primary prostatic adenocarcinoma. We assessed p53 nuclear accumulation immunohistochemically by the anti-p53 antibodies PAb1801 and CM-1, and identified 9 out of 48 patients (19%) displaying p53-positive phenotype. We observed a significant association between advanced age and p53 nuclear accumulation. The data suggest that p53 nuclear accumulation may be related to the aging process in prostatic adenocarcinoma.