p53 polymorphisms associated with mutations in and loss of heterozygosity of the p53 gene in male oral squamous cell carcinomas in Taiwan

The present study was designed to examine whether different p53 haplotypes of exon 4–intron 3–intron 6 affect the frequency of mutations and loss of heterozygosity (LOH) of the p53 gene in male oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCCs) in Taiwan. We found that individuals without two Pro-W-G alleles had significantly higher frequency of p53 mutations than those with two Pro-W-G alleles (odds ratio (OR)=1.98; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.10–3.56). Out of the 172 p53 gene exon 4 informative male OSCCs, 72 (41.9%) showed LOH. Among these 72 OSCCs with LOH, the frequency of Pro allele loss was 73.6% (53/72). It is notable that alcohol drinking increased the frequency of Arg allele loss (OR=10.56; 95% CI, 1.23–234.94) in OSCCs from patients who both smoked cigarettes and chewed areca quid (AQ). The frequency of LOH of p53 was not different between p53-mutated OSCCs and p53-normal OSCCs. Thus, the present study revealed that (a) the Arg allele is associated with p53 mutations, (b) the Pro allele is preferentially lost in OSCCs associated with cigarette smoking and AQ chewing, while the frequency of Arg allele loss is increased with alcohol drinking, and (c) haploinsufficiency of p53 is in itself likely to contribute to tumour progression in Taiwanese OSCCs.