The relationship of p53 gene mutation to cell differentiation and metastasis of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma

Objective. To inquire about the relationship of p53 gene mutation to the histopathological findings and clinical manifestation in cases of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC). Methods. The fresh samples from 60 cases of LSCC were examined. Polymerase chain reaction and silver staining-single strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) and DNA direct sequencing were used to detect the mutation of p53 gene in exons 5-8. Results. The mutation rates were 69.2% and 85. 3% in patients at clinical stage I - II and stage III-IV respectively (P>0.05). In the well-, moderately- and poorly-differentiated cell of LSCC, the mutation rates were 52.9%, 83.3% and 94.7% respectively (P< 0. 05). The p53 gene mutation rate of LSCC patients with neck lymph-node metastasis was 96. 4%, whereas that of patients without neck lymph-node metastasis was 62.5% (P<0. 05). Twenty samples showed positive results in SSCP; 19 samples showed deletion and mutation in codons 125-292 by DNA direct sequencing. Conclusion. The mutation of p53 gene in exons 5-8 was closely related to cell differentiation and the neck lymph-node metastasis of LSCC, but it was not related to the clinical stages of the LSCC cases.