P53 GENE-MUTATIONS IN HUMAN PROSTATE CANCERS IN JAPAN - DIFFERENT MUTATION SPECTRA BETWEEN JAPAN AND WESTERN COUNTRIES

The involvement of p53 mutations in prostate cancers in Japan was inve stigated. To evaluate any possible clinicopathological significance, p 53 mutations in 40 samples from 36 Japanese prostate cancers of differ ent stages (five cases of latent tumors, three of stage A cancers, 10 of stage B, five of stage C and 13 of stage D), including four lymph n ode metastases of stage D cases, were examined by polymerase chain rea ction-single strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) analysis and sequencing. Mutations were detected in five of 40 samples (12.5%); fou r were in primary cancers and the other in a lymph node metastasis fro m one of them. All mutation-positive cases were in stage D, and the mu tation frequency in stage D cases was 31%. This result indicates that p53 mutations may play a role in the progression of a subgroup of pros tate cancers ire Japanese, as observed for Americans and Europeans. Ho wever, a difference was noted between Japanese and Americans in the p5 3 mutational spectrum (at CpG site), presumably arising from variation in the underlying etiologic factors.