In our study, we analyzed 80 benign ovarian tumors for TP53 and K-ras mutations and for LOH on chromosomes 6, 7, 9, 11 and 17 using 56 microsatellite markers.
To determine whether genetic abnormalities present in primary ovarian tumors can be used to detect cancer cells in peritoneal fluid, we tested 14 ovarian cancers and 1 benign tumor of the ovary for loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at chromosomal arms 13q, 17p, 17q, and 22q and for mutations in the p53 and K-ras genes.
In addition, a point mutation in codon 157 of TP53 was detected in one tumour which is the first report of a TP53 mutation in a solitary benign ovarian tumour.
Our results indicate that this tumor suppressor gene may be involved in tumorigenesis, as its expression was detected in both borderline and malignant tumors while normal ovaries and benign ovarian tumors were unstained with the p53 antibody.
A high frequency of p53 mutations in ovarian cancers and lack of mutation in 6 benign ovarian tumors and 2 normal ovaries suggested that the mutation of the p53 gene was associated with the genesis and/or progression of ovarian cancer.