Abstract
The mutations that occur in the p53 tumor suppressor gene have been studied in
various human malignant tumors. However, little is known about this gene in
meningiomas. To investigate the relationship and frequency of p53 gene
mutations, the p53 polymerase chain reaction-single stranded conformational
polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) and immunohistochemical study were performed on the 41
intracranial meningiomas (21 benign, 11 atypical, and 9 malignant). The higher
the p53 protein expression rate, the poorer the histologic grade (9.5%, 72.7%,
and 88.9% in benign, atypical and malignant meningioma, respectively) (p=0.000).
The p53 protein expression rate was higher in recurrent meningioma (71.4%) than
in nonrecurrent meningioma (10.5%) (p=0.002). PCR-SSCP method was performed in
positive p53 protein immunoreactivity cases. p53 gene mutation rate was higher
in the atypical (62.5%) and malignant (25%) meningiomas than in the benign
meningioma (0%) (p=0.232). Also, the rate was higher in recurrent menigioma
(20%) than in nonrecurrent meningioma (0%) (o=0.495). Among five to eight exons
of the p53 gene, the mutation was observed on exon 7 more frequently. In
conclusion, p53 immunoreactivity and p53 gene mutation are closely correlated
with histologic grade and histologic atypia of intracranial meningiomas. p53
gene mutation would be considered as a useful marker to detect the progression
of intracranial meningiomas.