The expression of waf-1, p53 and bcl-2 in prostatic adenocarcinoma

Objective To determine the associations between the expression of waf-1 (a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor regulated by p53), p53, bcl-2 and tumour progression in prostate cancer. Patients and methods Samples of prostatic tissue were obtained by biopsy or at prostatectomy from 40 men (mean age 73 years, range 55-88) with histologically confirmed prostate cancer, examined using immunohistochemical staining for the three gene products, and the expression related to the stage, grade, disease progression and survival of the patients. Results Fifteen of 18 patients whose tumours were positive for waf-1, 10 of 12 positive for bcl-2 and 17 of 19 positive for p53 had disease progression, Fifteen of 19 patients positive for p53 had poorly differentiated tumours compared with 11 of 21 negative for p53 (P<0.05). A significant number of patients positive for p53 progressed and had a shorter time to progression compared to those negative for p53 (P<0.05). There was no correlation between either waf-1 and/or bcl-2 staining and clinical grade, stage or tumour progression. Conclusions This study confirmed the association of p53 protein accumulation with aggressive behaviour in prostate cancer and identified waf-1 protein in prostatic tumours, There was no evidence that the upregulation of waf-1 was associated with a better outcome in patients with prostate cancer.