P53 MUTATIONS IMPLICATE SUNLIGHT IN POSTTRANSPLANT SKIN-CANCER IRRESPECTIVE OF HUMAN-PAPILLOMAVIRUS STATUS

Mutations in p53 were detected in 11/23 (48%) of non melanoma skin can cers in renal allograft recipients and in 5/8 (63%) of sporadic tumour s from immune competent patients, 9/12 (75%) of mutations in transplan t patients and all 5 mutations in non transplant tumours were consiste nt with damage caused by ultraviolet (u,v,) irradiation, DNA sequences , predominantly of the epidermodysplasia verruciformis (EV) subgroup, were detected in 9/23 (39%) of transplant tumours and in 2/8 (25%) of eight non-transplant tumours, There was no relationship between HPV st atus and p53 mutation, HPV DNA being present in 5/16 (31%) of tumours with p53 mutation and 6/15 (40%) of tumours lacking p53 mutation, Thes e data are consistent with an important role for sunlight in the devel opment of post-transplant skin cancer, and with limited functional dat a suggesting that E6 proteins of the cutaneous and EV-related papillom aviruses do not target p53 for ubiquitin-mediated degradation.