Mutations in gene p53 are the most common defects in lung cancer and m
ay be a pathway through which environmental carcinogens initiate cance
r. We investigated p53 mutations in lung cancers from uranium miners w
ith high radon exposure. 16 (31%) of 52 large-cell and squamous-cell c
ancers from miners contained the same AGG to ATG transversion at codon
249, including cancers from 3 or 5 miners who had never smoked. This
specific mutation has been reported in only 1 of 241 published p53 mut
ations from lung cancers. The codon 249 mutation may be a marker for r
adon-induced lung cancer.