The objective of this study is to establish a possible association between staging and the expression of p53 and cyclooxygenase-2 (Cox-2) proteins in intestinal adenocarcinoma. A retrospective study of 40 embedded paraffins with surgical specimens of intestinal Adenocarcinoma was performed. The samples were collected during 1998 and 2003 at Hospital Universitário de Santa Maria, RS, Brasil. Samples of non-tumoral tissues (n = 40) were used as a negative control. The expression of p53 and Cox-2 was immunohistochemically studied. The expression of p53 and Cox-2 proteins was significantly higher in the tumor material when compared to the normal adjacent mucosa. Cox-2 expression was found in 100% of tumoral cases, while p53 expression was noted in 70% of tumor blocks. There is significantly association between the expression of p53 protein and Astler-Coller staging, but no with TNM-stage. There was no significant correlation between Cox-2 expression and intestinal adenocarcinoma staging. Our findings suggest that the expression of p53 and Cox-2 proteins could have association with Astler-Coller staging.
Intestinal adenocarcinoma; p53 protein; Cox-2 protein; Immunohistochemistry; Tumor staging
