[Study of codon 72 of p53 gene as a risk-factor in cervical cancer in Senegal]

Beside human papilloma virus infection, several genetic factors have been involved in susceptibility to cervical cancer. The arginine allele at codon 72 in p53 tumor suppressor gene has been reported to be a risk-factor in different ethnic groups. Our aim was to study this polymorphism as a risk-factor in Senegal. We conducted a case-control association study by recruiting 30 patients with cervical cancer clinically followed up in the Curie Institute in Dakar, and 93 healthy female controls without diagnosed cervical cancer. For each individual, DNA was extracted from whole blood. The codon 72 polymorphism was genotyped by PCR-RFLP. We did not find any association between the arginine allele and susceptibility to cervical cancer in our population (P = 0.354). Moreover, any correlation between the arginine allele and histological lesions was observed. Even if we did not find any correlation between the arginine allele and susceptibility to cervical cancer, p53 as a tumor suppressor gene remains a good genetic marker in tumours biology.