Pilot studies on the p53 gene in nipple aspirate fluid from patients with breast cancer

Nipple Aspirate Fluid (NAF) from patients with breast cancer is a potential source of exfoliated tumour material amenable to molecular biological stud y, but few such data have been reported. In this study we demonstrate that polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of p53 gene DNA is achievable in a proportion of NAF samples from breast cancer patients. Subsequently f our NAF samples from patients whose primary tumours were identified as havi ng a defined p53 mutation were studied by single stranded conformational po lymorphism analysis (SSCP). Two samples yielded PCR product indistinguishab le from wild type and two yielded no product. Whilst no cancer-related gene tic mutations were demonstrated in NAF samples, further study is warranted.