Low frequency of mutations in the WT1 coding region in Wilms' tumor

A series of twenty unselected Wilms' tumors were analysed for alterations in the WT1 tumor suppressor gene. The entire coding region of WT1 was amplified by RNA-PCR, and then screened for mutations by single-strand conformational polymorphism analysis (SSCP). This method was shown to be capable of detecting point mutations in the WT1 gene, by using an experimentally produced mutation. A single mutation, a 226 bp intragenic deletion, was detected in a tumor from a patient with the WAGR syndrome. These results suggest that alterations in the WT1 gene may be involved in only a subset of Wilms' tumors, and that other loci need to be investigated as potential suppressor genes in sporadic Wilms' tumors.