FUNCTIONAL MODULATION OF THE P53 GENE AND ITS PROTEIN IN HUMAN BRAIN TUMORS

The primary human brain tumors account for less than 2% of all human cancers but yet cause a disproportionate burden of cancer related morbidity and mortality. These are the second most common form of tumors in the pediatric population, next only to leukemia and hence the second leading cause of death due to cancer in children. Among the adults they rank 6th and 8th in frequency of all neoplasms and form 2nd and 5th leading cause of death in men and women respectively who belong to the age group of 20 to 39 years. The survival rates for brain tumor patients have not changed over the past several decades. The p53 gene is one of the most important and intensively studied human tumor suppressor genes. It has been shown to play a major role in cell proliferation as well as cell death. Because of its varied functions the p53 gene and its pathways have become important therapeutic target. Mutations in the p53 gene and the oncogenic function of its protein product have been well documented. However, numerous evidences indicate that based on its conformation and post translational modification the function of the wild type p53 protein can be modulated to be similar to that of the mutant form. In this paper we have reviewed the functional modulation of p53 gene in human brain tumor development.