Abstract
TP53 gene mutations, one of the most common alterations described in human tumors, have also been detected in gastric carcinoma, and shown to occur rather late in disease progression. A better assessment of the prognostic value of TP53 gene mutations can be obtained by examining archival material, as this allows stored cases with well-defined histories to be monitored. We performed immunohistochemical and polymerase chain reaction/single-strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) analyses of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded material from nine selected cases of gastric carcinoma at different pathological stages. PCR-SSCP analysis of TP53 exons 5-8 detected missense point mutations in two out of five immunostain(PAb1801)-positive tumors, and a deletion (allowing for a premature stop codon) in one of the remaining four immunostain-negative tumors. Thus, PCR-SSCP analysis represents a feasible strategy for the detection of TP53 alterations in archival material of gastric carcinoma cases.