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Prostate cancer is more likely to recur in men with abnormal p53 protein expression compared with their counterparts without this abnormality, according to researchers.

Prostate cancer is more likely to recur in men with abnormal p53 protein expression compared with their counterparts without this abnormality, according to researchers.

"Men whose prostate cancers lack the normal function of the p53 gene -- 'the guardian of the genome,'" lead investigator Dr. Anthony V. D'Amico told Reuters Health, "have a higher chance of recurrence following combined radiation and hormonal therapy."

Dr. D'Amico of Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston and colleagues came to this conclusion after studying data from 113 men with prostate cancer who were taking part in an endorectal MRI imaging study. Of these subjects, 20 had abnormal p53 expression and the remaining 93 had normal expression.

After a median follow-up of almost seven years, and after adjusting for factors including Gleason score and prostate specific antigen (PSA) level, those in the abnormal p53 group were at significantly increased risk of PSA failure (hazard ratio, 2.8).

The adjusted estimates of PSA failure at five years were 33 per cent in the abnormal p53 group versus 18 per cent in the normal group, a significant difference, the investigators report in the May issue of Urology.

Given these findings, Dr. D'Amico concludes that for men with abnormal p53 protein expression, "enrollment into clinical trials investigating the impact that chemotherapy will have on long-term cure rates is warranted."