The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between p53 and cyclin A immunostaining in squamous carcinomas of the oesophagus. It has been shown that both these proteins are overexpressed in poorly differentiated endometrial carcinomas. Fifty oesophagectomy specimens were analysed for p53 and cyclin A immunoexpression. This was correlated with patient age and gender and tumor stage and grade. Forty-two percent of cases were p53 positive, while 94% of the squamous cancers expressed cyclin A protein. Neither protein showed any statistically significant correlation with clinicopathological parameters. This study has demonstrated that only 42% of oesophageal squamous carcinomas from South Africa express p53 protein, while the vast majority (94%) express cyclin A protein. Neither of these proteins showed any relationship to each other or any clinical feature or the tumor grade or stage.