J Korean Surg Soc.  1998 Nov;55(5):726-736.

A Study of the p53 Tumor Suppressor Gene Mutations in Hepatocellular Carcinomas in Korean Patients

• Jeong JH
• Lee KS
• Cho YH

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma is the second most common cause of death among cancers in Korea. Epidemiological studies have revealed the carrier state of the hepatitis B virus and the dietary intake of aflatoxin B1 as possible causative agents of this neoplasm, but the precise molecular bases are still unknown.
METHODS
We examined 24 cases of human hepatocellular carcinomas in Koreans for the presence of p53 aberrations in exons 4 to 9 of the gene by using single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products.
RESULTS
Four (17%) of the tumors demonstrated a SSCP band shift, 1 in exon 6 and 3 in exon 7. All of the abnormal DNA fragments were further characterized by direct DNA sequencing. All the mutations were missense mutations. One was an A to G transition at the second nucleotide of codon 214; 2 were G to T transversions at the second nucleotide of codon 245; and one was a G to T transversion at the third nucleotide of codon 249, a mutational 'hot spot' at which mutations have been frequently found, especially when aflatoxin B1 plays an important role in the hepatocarcinogenesis.
CONCLUSIONS
These results indicate that the possibility of aflatoxin B1 being a causative agent of hepatocarcinogenesis in Korea can not be excluded.

Keyword

Hepatocellular carcinoma; p53; PCR-SSCP

MeSH Terms

Aflatoxin B1
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular*
Carrier State
Cause of Death
Codon
DNA
Epidemiologic Studies
Exons
Genes, Tumor Suppressor*
Hepatitis B virus
Humans
Korea
Mutation, Missense
Polymerase Chain Reaction
Polymorphism, Single-Stranded Conformational
Sequence Analysis, DNA
Aflatoxin B1
Codon
DNA