Higher incidence of p53 mutation in cervical carcinomas with intermediate-risk HPV infection

Objective: Inactivation of p53, either through mutation or interaction with human papillomavirus (HPV) E6 oncoprotein, is a characteristic feature of cervical carcinoma cell lines that have been previously studied. To elucida te the role of p53 in the carcinogenesis of Korean cervical carcinomas, 27 HPV-positive and 13 HPV-negative cervical carcinomas were studied in order to evaluate the status of the p53 gene. Study Design: The HPV status was as certained by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification using consensus primers designed from the E6 and E7 open reading frames (ORFs). The p53 mut ation status was analyzed by direct sequencing of the PCR product in highly conserved exons 5-8. Results: There was no significant difference in the f requency of the p53 mutation between the HPV-positive and negative cases. A ll three mutations in the HPV-positive cases were associated with intermedi ate-risk viruses. The average age of the patients with the p53 mutation was 14 years older than that of patients without the p53 mutation. Conclusion: p53 mutations are higher in the so called intermediate-risk HPV positive t han HPV 16 or 18 positive cervical carcinomas. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ir eland Ltd. All rights reserved.