Prognostic significance of p53 mutations and 3p deletions in primary resected non-small cell lung cancer

We evaluated the prognostic significance of p53 mutations and an allelic loss of chromosome 3p in 71 patients with non-small cell lung cancer who underwent potentially curative resection. p53 mutations were detected in 35 cases (49%), while 3p deletions were observed in 34 of 70 informative cases (49%). The presence of the p53 mutation was associated with a shortened survival in all patients (P = 0.014 by log rank test), including those in early stages of the disease (stage I or II, n = 48) (P = 0.016 by log rank test). Multivariate analysis by the Cox proportional hazards model also revealed that p53 mutation was an independent yet unfavorable prognostic factor (P = 0.013). Patients with 3p deletion tended to have a poorer prognosis, but not to a statistically significant extent.