Overexpression of P53 and its risk factors in esophageal cancer in urban areas of Xi'an

AIM:To investigate the risk factors of esophageal cancer (EC) in urban areas of Xi'an and to determine the association between overexpression of P53 and these risk factors.METHODS: All cases (89) and controls (97) were permanent residents in urban areas of Xi'an, all cases of primary EC had been histologically confirmed, controls were inpatients with non-cancer and nonsmoking-related disease. Cancer tissues and tissues adjacent to the cancer of 65 cases and 24 available normal esophageal tissues of controls were detected for P53 overexpression by the immunohistochemical method.RESULTS: The smoking and familial history of cancer were significantly associated with EC in Xi'an inhabitants. The laboratory assay indicated that P53 positive stain in EC was 50.0%(34/65)and 6.1%(4/65) in tissues adjacent to the cancer, but no positive stain was found in normal esophageal tissues of controls. The results showed that P53 overexpression in EC was closely related to smoking and cases with familial history of cancer.CONCLUSION: Smoking and familial cancer history were important risk factors for EC,and the alteration of P53 gene may be due to smoking and inheritance factors.