Sixty-three women treated for primary carcinoma of the fallopian tube (PFTC) from 1980-1995 were retrospectively analyzed to study the impact of p53 expression on survival in primary carcinoma of the fallopian tube. The mean age of the patients was 61.2 years (range 37.3-80.2). Twenty-four (38%) patients were FIGO stage I, 11 (18%) stage II, 19 (30%) stage III and nine (14%) stage IV. Complete radical resection was achieved in 45 (71%) patients. In 56 (89%) women, surgery involved removal of the uterus, the adnexa, and/or the omentum or lymph nodes. Adjuvant therapy consisted of either chemotherapy (n: 31; 49%) or irradiation (n: 21; 33%). The 5-year survival rate for all cases was 43%. For stages I+II and III+IV the 5-year survival rate was 59 and 19%, respectively (P<0.00001). Twelve samples (19%) were p53-negative (tumours with <10% of nuclear staining) and 51 (81%) samples were p53 positive tumours with >10% of nuclear staining. The median survival for the p53-negative group was 40 and 21 months for the p53 positive group. No statistical significance between p53 expression and different FIGO stages was observed, however, a trend for a slightly better survival for the p53-negative group was observed.