p53 expression is associated with tumor stage, grade and subtype in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

The present study aimed to determine the expression levels of p53 in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and to evaluate its association with several HCC-related prognostic factors and in particular, with tumor stage, grade and subtype. Therefore, a cross-sectional study, involving 41 patients with HCC, who underwent surgical resection between January, 2013 and December, 2020 was conducted. To assess the expression levels of p53 in all patients with HCC, immunohistochemical staining was performed. In addition, the association between p53 expression and the clinico-pathological characteristics of patients with HCC, including prognostic factors, was evaluated by applying the appropriate statistical analysis methods. The results revealed that among the 41 patients enrolled, 35 patients (85.4%) were positive for p53 expression. A higher percentage of positive p53 expression was observed in male patients >60 years old, with single HCC nodules >5 cm in diameter and vascular invasion, compared with their counterparts. A positive p53 expression was associated with well- and poorly differentiated HCC, but not with tumor stage and subtype. No differences in p53 expression were observed across different tumor stages and subtypes. Additionally, patients with moderately and poorly differentiated HCC exhibited significantly higher p53 expression levels compared with those suffering from well-differentiated HCC. Overall, the results demonstrated that the rate of p53 immuno-positive cells was increased in patients with HCC. In addition, p53 expression was associated with well- and poorly differentiated HCC, thus suggesting its association with a poorer prognosis.