Detection of p53 Gene Mutations in Human Ovarian and Endometrial Cancers by Polymerase Chain Reaction‐Single Strand Conformation Polymorphism Analysis

The presence of mutations in the p53 gene was examined in ovarian cancers by a polymerase chain reaction‐single strand conformation polymorphism (PCR‐SSCP) analysis. The primers were designed to amplify exons 5 through 9 that contain phylogenetically conserved domains of the p53 gene. Mutations were detected in 5 out of 10 cases, one of which contained a deletion in the second allele. A single base substitution was detected in 4 cases at codons 162,175, 205 and 273 and a single base insertion in one case within codon 315. A high frequency of p53 mutations in ovarian cancers and lack of mutation in 6 benign ovarian tumors and 2 normal ovaries suggested that the mutation of the p53 gene was associated with the genesis and/or progression of ovarian cancer. In 1 of 7 endometrial cancers, two mutations at codons 239 and 254 were detected.