Clinical utility of anti-p53 auto-antibody: Systematic review and focus on colorectal cancer

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.