Clinical significance of p53 mutation and p53 protein expression in oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma

Objective: To investigate the relationship of p53 mutation and p53 protein expression in oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma.Methods: Western blot and polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism were performed to determine p53 mutation and p53 protein expression in 38 cases of oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma,20 cases of precancerous lesion,and 10 normal oral mucosal tissues.Results: The positive expression rates of p53 protein were 42.1%(16/38),10%(2/20),and 0%(0/10) in oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma,precancerous lesion,and normal oral mucosal tissues,respectively(P 0.05).Mutation in exons 5 and 8 of the p53 gene was found in 39.5%(15/38) of oral tongue squamous cell carcinom.p53 mutation was closely related to p53 protein overexpression(P 0.05).Conclusion: p53 mutation and p53 protein overexpression play important roles in the occurrence and development of oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma.