Cancer of the bladder is a frequent malignancy in Egypt and other deve
loping countries in which bladder infection with the parasite Schistos
oma haematobium is common. Several epidemiological, histopathological
and clinical characteristics of cancer of the Bilharzial bladder sugge
st that it is distinct from bladder cancer seen in industrialized coun
tries. Little is known, however, about molecular aberrations in Egypti
an bladder cancer. We studied the status of p53 in a series of 25 case
s of Egyptian bladder cancer using immunohistochemistry to detect the
p53 protein and SSCP/sequencing to identify mutations in the p53 gene.
Ten of 25 (40%) tumor samples showed a mutation by SSCP/sequencing. M
utations were seen in both the squamous and transitional cell variants
. The presence of mutations was associated with advanced stage of dise
ase. Immunohistochemistry had a sensitivity of 70%, and a Specificity
of 85% for detecting p53 mutations. Our data show that p53 mutations a
re a common event in Egyptian bladder cancer, and may be an indicator
of advanced disease. Immunohistochemistry is both sensitive and specif
ic for detecting p53 mutations in this tumor, and may be used to asses
s the prognostic value of p53 mutations in this disease.