[p53 gene abnormalities in advanced primary lung cancer and metastatic tumors]

To study the relation between p53 mutation and metastasis in primary lung cancer, 29 pairs of primary and metastatic tumors obtained by autopsy were analyzed for abnormalities of the p53 gene, by the polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP). The tumors consisted of 6 small cell carcinomas, 13 adenocarcinomas, 8 squamous cell carcinomas, 1 large cell carcinoma, and 1 adeno-squamous cell carcinoma. PCR-SSCP analysis showed that 3 small cell carcinomas (50%), 3 adenocarcinomas (23%), 2 squamous cell carcinomas (25%), and 1 large cell carcinoma (100%) had p53 gene mutations. The abnormalities were found between exons five and eight. The metastatic tumor and the primary tumor had similar mutations. These results suggest that p53 gene mutation may occur before distant metastasis and may be stable during the process of metastasis.