Immunohistochemical detection of p53 was performed in archival material of 129 early gastric cancers. Positive staining was detected in 22.5% (29/129) of the cases. No significant association could be established with any clinicopathological criteria but a trend of a higher rate of p53 detection was observed among large tumors ( > 6 cm) and in cases with lymph node involvement. Prognosis was significantly worse for patients with p53-positive staining tumors. The 5-year survival rate was 92.1% for patients with p53-negative tumors and 71.2% for those with positive malignancies (p = 0.001). p53 detection and lymph node involvement emerged as independent prognostic factors in a Cox model including other clinicopathological criteria. Immunochemical detection of p53 may become an important aid in the preoperative evaluation of patients with early gastric cancer.