MUTATION OF P53 IN SQUAMOUS-CELL CANCER OF THE HEAD AND NECK - RELATIONSHIP TO TUMOR-CELL PROLIFERATION

Rapid proliferation of squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck ( SCCHN) during therapy may contribute to treatment failure. We have inv estigated the presence of p53 abnormalities in patients with SCCHN as a correlate of proliferation rate and other pathologic and clinical va riables. p53 Mutation, as determined by polymerase chain reaction and single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis of microdissected fro zen sections of tumor biopsies, was significantly associated with a hi gh labeling index, as determined by in vivo infusion of IUdR and BrdU (P = 0.017), p53 Protein expression was detected by immunohistochemist ry with two different antibodies, followed by quantitative image analy sis. Many cases exhibited strong p53 protein expression in the absence of mutations within the conserved region of the gene, and expression was not related to proliferation. The presence of p53 mutations was re lated to tumor differentiation in this group of patients.