ABNORMALITIES IN THE P53 GENE IN TUMORS AND CELL-LINES OF HUMAN SQUAMOUS-CELL CARCINOMAS OF THE HEAD AND NECK

Abnormalities in the p53 gene were studied in a series of cell lines o f human squamous-cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) and in tu mor tissues. Restriction-fragment-length polymorphism (RFLP), quantita tive hybridization and immunochemical analysis of mutant pS3 proteins were combined to detect and characterize 3 different phases in the p53 gene alteration: mutation (in 9/9 cases), 17p13 deletion (9/10 cases) and amplification of the non-deleted allele (9/31 cases). In SCCHN, d eletion of the p53 gene was nearly always accompanied by mutation, onl y one cell line studied having mutation without deletion. Alterations in the p53 gene are common in SCCHN, and involve a series of genetic e vents which occur in sequence during tumor progression.