Analysis of mutational variations in TP53 tumour suppressor gene among Pakistani head and neck cancer patients

The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of TP53 mutation among Pakistani head and neck cancer (HNC) patients who visited Nishtar Hospital Multan and Nishtar Institute of Dentistry (NID), Multan, Pakistan. While significant research has been conducted on the role of p53 in HNC throughout the world, this study is the first of its kind in Southern Punjab, Pakistan. A total of 242 samples (121 cases and 121 controls) were collected from Nishtar Hospital Multan and NID, Multan, Pakistan. After histopathological analysis to determine the stage type and grade of malignancy, DNA extraction and sequencing were carried out to assess any mutations in the TP53 region (exons 5-8). Genetic screening was performed by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) technique and Chromas 2.6.6 was used to visualise the sequencing results. The mean age of cases was 50.73 ±16.41 years and controls were 37.55 ± 15.51 years. The frequency of HNC was higher in male patients (65.28%) than in female patients (34.71%). Overall, this cancer was found to be significantly more prevalent in the age group of >35-55 years (p < 0.001). Smoking (51% versus 14%), naswar usage (15.7% versus 6.6%), poor oral hygiene (52.9% versus 29.8%) and anemic status (57.0% versus 4.1%) were significantly associated with cases (p ≤ 0.05) compared to controls. Only 04 samples exon 5 (1 sample), exon 7 (2 samples) and exon 8 (1 sample) with changed mobility patterns were found on the SSCP gel. All mutations were missense and heterozygous. Out of four mutant samples, three mutations were in the hotspot regions (codon 175, 245 and 248) of p53. Based on this study, there may be a weak association between the TP53 exon 5-8 mutation and HNC patients in Southern Punjab, Pakistan.