Screening for TP53 mutations in patients and tumours from 109 Swedish breast cancer families

To estimate the prevalence of TP53 mutations in familial breast cancer, constant denaturant gel electrophoresis (CDGE) was used to screen exons 5-8 of the TP53 gene for germline mutations. Genomic DNA from 128 breast cancer patients belonging to 109 families with familial cancer were screened. No germline mutations were found in any of the patients. We also studied TP53 mutations in tumour DNA from 51 of the same individuals and found mutations in 14%. This is similar to what has been reported in sporadic breast cancer.