Formalin fixed, paraffin embedded tissue samples of 45 gastric carcinomas, resected curatively, were used for the study. An immunohistochemical analysis employed monoclonal antibodies: p53 (No N1581, DAKO) and p27KIP1 (NCL-p27KIP1, Novocastra). Positive nuclear protein expression was assessed at the 30% level. We found no correlations between the expression of either protein and Lauren's classification, the age of patients and tumour localization. Borderline significance of p=0.07 was noted in the association of p53 expression and histological differentiation. However, a decrease of p27 expression and an overexpression of p53 correlated with the presence of lymph node metastases (p<0.01). Simultaneously, the expression of p27 protein in main mass of tumour correlated with the lack of p53 expression in the main mass and lymph node metastases.