Abstract
The protein that is coded by p53 gene is a multi-functional transcription factor involved in the control of cell cycle progression, in DNA integrity and especially in the apoptosis of cells with damaged DNA. Mutation of p53 is reported to be a determinant of the response to radiation therapy. For the treatment of early laryngeal cancer cases, radiation therapy shares a considerably large part of the therapeutic strategy. The response to the radiation therapy is frequently associated with the total prognosis and quality of life after the treatment of laryngeal cancer.
Mutation analysis of p53 in laryngeal cancer cases were performed in this study. Samples obtained from 14 laryngeal cancer cases were examined by SSCP analysis followed by sequence analysis of exon 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 of p53. Three different point mutations, G245D, R249S and Y205C, were identified among 3 out of 14 (21.4%) laryngeal cancer cases, respectively. These three cases all demonstrated relatively poorer prognosis, showing radiation resistance, postoperative neck metastasis and lung metastasis. Although statistical evaluations was difficult due to the small number of examined samples, these preliminary results indicated the potential clinical impact of genetic diagnosis of p53 in selecting the proper therapeutic strategies for early laryngeal cancer.
