Applied Cancer Research, Volume 25, Number 2, 2005
organ-targeted surveillance based on family
history should be considered.
30
Individuals with TP53 mutations should
avoid or minimize exposure to radiation
whenever possible.
33
The TP53 gene is
recognized as playing a crucial role in genomic
repair.
34
TP53-deficient mice are prone to early
formation of multiple, spontaneous cancers and
p53-deficient mouse cells have been shown to
be radiation sensitive and prone to cancer.
35
Radiation-induced second malignancies have
been reported among individuals with TP53
mutations.
36-38
A high incidence of exposure to
genotoxic agents, such as to pesticides, has been
reported in some families but to date, no
correlation has been established.
17
CONCLUSION
After 25 years of research and over 30 000
publications, studies on TP53 have had a major
impact on our understanding on cancer
molecular biology . The challenge for the years
to come is to turn this knowledge into advances
in cancer prevention, detection, prognosis and
therapy. New discoveries about the function and
control of p53 continue to emerge every month
and attempts to exploit the system to develop
better therapeutics and diagnostics are
beginning to be successful in clinics. Current
understanding of LiFraumeni syndrome and its
association with germline p53 mutations is
incomplete. Additional studies are needed for
cancer spectrum in the syndrome, the role of
environmental carcinogens in cancer
development among family members, possible
genetic heterogeneity and other methods, age-
specific penetrance of the mutant gene, and rare
p53 polymorphisms that might be mistaken for
functional mutations.
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