Absence of a Mutation of the p21/WAF1 Gene in Human Lung and Pancreatic Cancers

The expression of a negative regulator of the cell cycle, p21(WAF1) protein, is trans‐activated hy wild‐type p53, but not by the mutant protein. Therefore, mutations of the p53 and WAF1 genes may be complementary. We examined DNAs from 70 human primary lung (63 of NSCLC and 7 of SCLC) and 24 pancreatic cancers (19 primary cancers and 5 cell lines) for mutations of the WAF1 gene. No mutations were detected in any samples examined, regardless of the mutational state of the p53 gene. The results suggested that aberrations of the coding sequence of the WAF1 gene are not associated with carcinogenesis in lung and pancreatic cancers.