Detection of p53 exon 9 gene mutation in bladder cancer by polymerase chain reaction-single-strand conformation polymorphism method

Introduction: Urinary bladder cancer is the fourth most common diagnosed malignancy in men and the tenth in women worldwide. The successful treatment depends on early detection and specific diagnostic approaches. Mutations in the p53 tumor suppressor gene (TP53) are very common among the cancers, especially in bladder cancer that p53 mutation is identified in around 60 percents. Aims: In this study, we aim to detect p53 mutation in bladder cancer patients in Kermanshah city of Iran. Materials and Methods: Thirty paraffin-embedded specimens were obtained from bladder cancer patients. They were reviewed by pathologists for substantial amounts of neoplastic tissue. PCR-SSCP technique was used followed by standard silver staining to analyze TP53 exon 9 gene mutations in tumor samples. RESULTS: Polyacrylamide gel analysis represented mutations in 2 cases (6.7%) that were classified as p53-positive, and there were no mutations in 28 cases (93.3%) that were classified as p53-negative. No significant correlation observed between p53 mutation and histological grade, tumor stage, muscular propria status, patient sex, and age. Conclusion: These data are the first report on the p53 abnormalities in bladder cancer patients from Kermanshah. We can suppose that the percentage of p53 exon 9 mutation is low in bladder cancer patients from western Iran. However, further studies on a large number of tissue specimens, if possible, help to verify the obtained results.