Prognostic significance of TP53 gene mutation in 995 cases of colorectal carcinoma: influence of tumour site, stage, adjuvant chemotherapy and type of mutation

Soong, R; Powell, B; Elsaleh, H; Gnanasampanthan, G; Smith, D.R; Goh, H.S; Joseph, D; Iacopetta, B

« Previous Next »European Journal of Cancer
Volume 36, Issue 16 , Pages 2053-2060, October 2000

Prognostic significance of TP53 gene mutation in 995 cases of colorectal carcinoma:

influence of tumour site, stage, adjuvant chemotherapy and type of mutation

R Soong
- Department of Surgery, University of Western Australia, Nedlands 6907, Australia
- Molecular Biology Laboratory, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore
B Powell
- Department of Surgery, University of Western Australia, Nedlands 6907, Australia
H Elsaleh
- Department of Surgery, University of Western Australia, Nedlands 6907, Australia
G Gnanasampanthan
- Department of Surgery, University of Western Australia, Nedlands 6907, Australia
D.R Smith
- Molecular Biology Laboratory, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore
H.S Goh
- Molecular Biology Laboratory, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore
D Joseph
- Department of Medicine, University of Western Australia, Nedlands 6907, Australia
B Iacopetta
- Department of Surgery, University of Western Australia, Nedlands 6907, Australia
- Corresponding author. Tel.: +61-8-9346-2085; fax: +61-8-9346-2416

Received 14 March 2000; received in revised form 15 June 2000; accepted 19 July 2000.

Abstract

Previous studies on the prognostic significance of TP53 gene alterations in colorectal cancer (CRC) have led to conflicting results. The present study investigated the prognostic significance of TP53 gene mutation in a very large series of 995 Dukes’ B and C CRC patients, the majority of whom did not receive chemotherapy. Mutations were found in 385 (39%) cases and were not associated with tumour stage, histological grade, patient age or sex. Significantly more mutations were found in tumours from the left-sided colon compared with those from the right side (43% versus 34%, P=0.006). TP53 gene mutation had no prognostic value in the overall series or in different site or stage subgroups. None of the different types of TP53 gene mutation showed prognostic value. A trend for association with worse survival was observed in the patient subgroup that received adjuvant chemotherapy (Hazard Ratio (HR) 1.4, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.89–2.21, P=0.15). These results indicate that mutation of the TP53 gene is not a useful prognostic marker for CRC patients who do not receive adjuvant chemotherapy. Further study is required to determine whether different types of TP53 mutation might be of value in predicting the response of CRC patients to chemotherapy.

Keywords: Colorectal carcinoma, TP53, Prognostic marker, Mutation