CORRELATION BETWEEN P53 MUTATION AND CYCLIN D1 AMPLIFICATION IN HEAD AND NECK SQUAMOUS-CELL CARCINOMA

Mutations in the p53 tumour suppressor gene and amplification of the c yclin D1 (CCND1) oncogene have been commonly reported in various malig nancies. In the present study of 39 squamous cell carcinomas of the he ad and neck, p53 mutations were manifest in 11 (28%) of the cases, whe reas CCND1 amplification was seen in 6 (16%) of 37 analysed tumours. T he 10 mutations occurring in coding sequences of p53 were found in exo n 5 (4 cases), exon 6 (3 cases), and exon 8 (3 cases). No mutation was found in exon 7. Eight of the 10 exon nucleotide substitutions were m issense mutations and two were nonsense mutations. All six tumours wit h CCND1 amplification also had p53 mutations, while an additional five tumours manifested p53 mutations in the absence of CCND1 amplificatio n. There was a statistically significant positive correlation between these two gene alterations. This raises the possibility that mutation of p53 precedes CCND1 amplification in carcinogenesis. (C) 1997 Elsevi er Science Ltd. All rights reserved.