title: p53 as a potential predictive factor of response to chemotherapy: feasibility of p53 assessment using a functional test in yeast from trucut biopsies in breast cancer patients.
abstract: Assessment of the predictive value of p53 requires the testing of large numbers of samples from patients enrolled in prospective phase III clinical trials. The goal of this study was to determine whether p53 status can be determined by p53 yeast functional assay using the limiting amounts of material that can typically be obtained in prospective phase III trials (particularly when chemotherapy is given before surgery). All patients presenting with a clinically palpable tumour which could be considered large enough to perform a trucut biopsy (> or =2 cm breast tumour) were eligible for this study. Two trucut biopsies and one incisional biopsy were performed on the surgical specimens (mastectomy or tumourectomy). Samples were snap frozen and cryostat sections were taken for histology and p53 testing. Thirty patients were included. Three samples out of 90 failed to give any p53 PCR products, probably because these samples contained almost entirely fibrous tissue. Of the 87 samples that could be tested, the incisional and trucut biopsies results were fully concordant in every case. p53 could be defined in 97% of patients by double trucut biopsy. Eight out of 30 tumours tested were mutant for p53 (27%). p53 status can be reliably determined by yeast assay from single frozen sections of trucut biopsies. Histological examination before p53 testing is essential to exclude cases where the p53 result may reflect only the status of the normal cells in the biopsy.
authors.affiliation: Département de Gynécologie Obstétrique, Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève, Boulevard de la Cluse 32, CH-1211 Genève 14-Switzerland.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bonnefoi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ducraux
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Movarekhi
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Pelte
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bongard
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lurati
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Iggo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001681:Biological Assay / Q000379:methods; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis*; D001706:Biopsy; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D015925:Cryopreservation; D004252:DNA Mutational Analysis; D017931:DNA Primers; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm / Q000235:genetics*; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D016368:Frameshift Mutation; D016158:Genes, p53 / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008408:Mastectomy; D020125:Mutation, Missense; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D013048:Specimen Handling; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D015003:Yeasts / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D017931:DNA Primers; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53