Frequent mutation of the p53 gene in human esophageal cancer

Sequence alterations in the p53 gene have been detected in human tumors of the brain, breast, lung, and colon, and it has been proposed that p53 mutations spanning a major portion of the coding region inactivate the tumor suppressor function of this gene. To our knowledge, neither transforming mutations in oncogenes nor mutations in tumor suppressor genes have been reported in human esophageal tumors. The authors examined four human esophageal carcinoma cell lines and 14 human esophageal squamous cell carcinomas by polymerase chain reaction amplification and direct sequencing for the presence of p53 mutations in exons 5,6,7,8, and 9. Two cell lines and five of the tumor speicmens contained a mutated allele (one frameshift and six missense mutations). All missense mutations detected occurred at G·C base pairs in codons at or adjacent to mutations previously reported in other cancers. The identification of aberrant p53 genes alleles in one-third of the tumors they tested suggests that mutations at this locus are common genetic events in the pathogenesis of squamous cell carcinomas of the esophagus