p53 codon 72 polymorphism and HPV status in lung cancer

Abstract

Background: Several risk factors, both environmental and genetic, have been associated with the pathogenesis of lung cancer: A common polymorphism at codon 72 of exon 4 of the p53 gene encoding either an arginine or proline has been shown to conifer susceptibility to the development of different human malignancies. This polymorphism affects proteolytic degradation of p53 promoted by the HPV-E6 protein and represents a risk factor for human-papillomavirus-induced carcinogenesis.