p53 point mutation and survival in colorectal cancer patients: Effect of disease dissemination and tumour location

The relationship between p53 point mutation and patient survival was examin ed in 328 colorectal cancer patients. Point mutation was detected in 51% (1 66/328) of cases and was associated with a poorer prognosis in univariate a nd multivariate analysis. However, subcohort analysis showed that this rela tionship was restricted to patients with lymphatic dissemination, patients without evident distant metastatic lesions at the time of presentation and in tumours confined to the distal colorectum. These results suggest that th e utility of p53 point mutation as a specific, patient based prognostic mar ker may be restricted to certain classes of patients.