Mutations of p53 gene in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) correlate with tumor progression and patient prognosis: A study of 138 patients with unifocal HCC

The mutation spectrum of p53 gene and its biological significance were studied in 138 patients with unifocal primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in Taiwan. The p53 mutations were detected in 51 cases (37%); 36 (71%) were missense mutations. The others (29%) included mutations at the intron-exon junctions (5 cases), deletion or insertion (4 cases), nonsense mutations (4 cases), and silent mutations (2 cases). The mutation sites were scattered from exons 4 to 10, predominantly (75%) in exons 5, 7, and 8. Of these mutations, 72% were transversions, mostly G:C→T:A change (46%); while only 28% were transitions. Mutation occurred at codon 249 only in 14 cases (10%), but accounted for 27% of the mutations. The p53 mutations correlated with allele loss of p53 locus (52% vs 17%, p