IMUNODETECÇÃO DA PROTEÍNA p53 EM CÂNCER DE MAMA. UM IMPORTANTE FATOR PROGNÓSTICO?

Abstract

In Brazil, breast cancer is the most incident tumor in the female population, and its natural history demonstrates variable clinical courses and different survival rates, according to each patient. Since the systemic therapy has an essential role in the treatment of breast cancer patients, the selection of those that will relapse became an important issue. Identification of significant prognostic factors is essential in therapeutic programs. Because it has been extensively reported that mutated p53 proteins are more stable its wild type counterpart, immunodetection of nuclear p53 protein in tumor cells became an indirect method used to analyze TP53 mutations. Immunodetection of nuclear p53 protein is considered a bad prognostic factor in a long list of human malignant tumors. This study analyze the imunodetection of p53 nuclear protein and its possible association with recognized prognostic factors in a group of 214 patients with breast cancer assisted at Hospital Araujo Jorge, in Brazil. In our study any association was demonstrated between p53 immunodetection and recognized clinical factors including: age over than 60 years old, clinical stage, tumor microscopic grade, immunodetection of estrogen and progesterone receptor, c-erbB-2, tumor size and nodal involvement. p53 immunodetection did not significantly influenced five years survival rates in the patients analyzed in our series. Similar results have been reported by different groups. We concluded that the more sensitive molecular methods must be evaluated, in order to validate the prognostic value of TP53 mutations in breast cancer.