p53 status in radiation-induced soft-tissue sarcomas.
BACKGROUND
Following therapeutic irradiation after a latency period of many years radiation-induced tumors, often sarcomas, can arise. Results of radiation-induced DNA damage can be 1. p53 over-expression, inducing growth arrest or apoptosis, and 2. occurrence of mutations, frequently including the p53 gene, as one molecular promotor for carcinogenesis. We were interested whether radiation-induced sarcomas are associated with alterations of the p53 status.


METHODS
Samples from 11 radiation-induced soft-tissue sarcomas (STS) were studied by a non-radioactive PCR-SSCP sequencing analysis and by immunohistochemistry with five antibodies for their p53 status.


RESULTS
A tumor of one patient possessed a G->A transition in codon 280 (exon 8). Of 11 tumors, 9 showed nuclear p53 positivity, detected by monoclonal antibody DO-1. Of these 9 patients, 7 died during the observation period, whereas the 2 patients with DO-1 negative tumor samples are still alive.


CONCLUSIONS
p53 over-expression and p53 mutation occur in radiation-induced STS. p53 status is expected to have prognostic impact for radiation-induced STS.
Taubert
H
H
Institute of Pathology, Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, Germany. helge.taubert@medizn.uni-halle.de
Meye
A
A
Bache
M
M
Hinze
R
R
Holzhausen
H J
HJ
Schmidt
H
H
Rath
F W
FW
Dunst
J
J
Würl
P
P
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005091:Exons; D005260:Female; D016158:Genes, p53; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009154:Mutation; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D018807:Polymorphism, Single-Stranded Conformational; D012509:Sarcoma / Q000235:genetics* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D016019:Survival Analysis; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000032:analysis* / Q000235:genetics
D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53