T. Kashii et al., STUDIES ON CLINICOPATHOLOGICAL FEATURES OF LUNG-CANCER PATIENTS WITH K-RAS P53 GENE ALTERATIONS - COMPARISON BETWEEN YOUNGER AND OLDER GROUPS/, Oncology, 52(3), 1995, pp. 219-225
In order to define the roles of the K-ras and p53 genes in the develop
ment of lung cancer, especially in young adults, we compared the clini
copathological features of the patients between younger (less than or
equal to 45 years, n = 47) and older (>55 years, n = 50) groups. The g
ene alterations were examined by the polymerase chain reaction-single
strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) method. The K-ras gene alt
erations were detected only in adenocarcinomas, and the p53 gene alter
ations in all histologic types of lung cancer. There were no significa
nt differences in the frequency of both K-ras and p53 gene alterations
between the younger and older groups (9 vs. 11%, 36 vs. 32%). In the
younger group, but not in the older one, the percentage for smokers wa
s significantly higher in the p53 gene alteration-positive group than
for the negative group (65 vs. 30%). As to the prognosis, there were n
o significant differences between the p53 gene alteration-positive and
-negative cases in both the younger and older groups as well as in al
l subjects, while a tendency of poorer prognosis was observed in K-vas
gene alteration-positive cases than for the -negative ones with adeno
carcinomas. These results suggest that (1) the K-ras and p53 gene alte
rations would have no special roles in terms of the lung carcinogenesi
s in young adults; (2) a positive relationship between smoking and p53
gene alteration would exist in young adults with lung cancer, and (3)
K-rns gene alteration would become a prognostic factor in lung cancer
.