Review
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World J Gastroenterol. Aug 7, 2013; 19(29): 4651-4670
Published online Aug 7, 2013. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v19.i29.4651
Clinical utility of anti-p53 auto-antibody: Systematic review and focus on colorectal cancer
Aravind Suppiah, John Greenman
Aravind Suppiah, Postgraduate Medical Institute, Biomedical and Environmental Sciences, University of Hull, Cottingham HU6 7RX, United Kingdom
Aravind Suppiah, Castle Hill Hospital, Cottingham HU16 5JQ, United Kingdom
John Greenman, School of Biological, Biomedical and Environmental Sciences, University of Hull, Cottingham HU6 7RX, United Kingdom
Author contributions: Suppiah A drafted, wrote and submitted the manuscript; Greenman J revised the manuscript, and provided final approval.
Correspondence to: Aravind Suppiah, MD, FRCS, Castle Hill Hospital, Castle Road, Cottingham HU16 5JQ, United Kingdom. aravind.suppiah@hotmail.com
Telephone: +44-79-20486056 Fax: +44-14-82622335
Received: February 22, 2013
Revised: May 29, 2013
Accepted: June 18, 2013
Published online: August 7, 2013
Processing time: 164 Days and 18.8 Hours
Core Tip

Core tip: Anti-p53 auto-antibodies are commonly produced in response to p53 mutations. Anti-p53 auto-antibody titres generally increase with tumour load, but not all patients who are initially sero-negative develop an auto-antibody response despite disease progression and metastases. Conversely, sero-positive patients do not lose their anti-p53 auto-antibodies despite the cancer being completely excised. In general, cancers with the highest p53 mutation rate, e.g., oesophageal and ovarian, demonstrate the highest anti-p53 auto-antibody rates; conversely, melanoma and testicular carcinoma with the lowest mutation rate have the lowest serum auto-antibody levels. Measurement of anti-p53 auto-antibodies may be useful in screening or monitoring for tumour recurrence.