ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the expression of p73 protein in normal skins and lesions of benign and malignant epidermal tumors. Methods By immunohistochemical staining, the expression of p73, p53 and Ki67 was examined in 19 cases of seborrheic keratosis (SK), 16 basal cell carcinoma (BCC), 11 Bowen's disease (BD), 5 squamous cell carcinoma (SCC),as well as in 10 normal skin controls. Results In normal skin, p73 protein was found to distribute in the basal cells of the epidermis, basal cells in the outer root sheath of the hair follicles, and the germinative cells in the sebaceous glands. p73 was expressed strongly in the basal cell-like cells of BCC and SK lesions, and in the atypical cells of BD lesions, but weakly or even negatively in the tumor cells of SCC lesions and the squamous cell-like cells of SK lesions. There was significant difference in the expression of p73 among the SK, BD, BCC and SCC lesions (H=12.71 ,P