The p53 Mutation/Deletion Profile in a Small Cohort of the Omani Population with Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma

Objectives: mutations/deletions affecting the tp53 gene are considered an independent marker predicting a poor prognosis for patients with diffuse large b-cell lymphoma (dlbcl). a cohort within a genetically isolated population was investigated for p53 mutation/deletion status. methods: deoxyribonucleic acid (dna) samples were extracted from 23 paraffin-embedded blocks obtained from dlbcl patients, and subjected to polymerase chain reaction (pcr) amplification and sequencing of exons 4–9 of the p53 gene. results: while 35% of patients analysed displayed allelic deletions (p <0.01), immunohistochemical analysis revealed a mutation rate of 69.5%. it is noteworthy that the rate of p53 mutations/deletions in this small cohort was found to be higher than that previously reported in the literature. interestingly, patients with p53 mutations displayed a better overall survival when compared to those without. the survival of patients treated with rituximab-containing combination chemotherapy was significantly better than those who did not receive rituximab (p <0.05). furthermore, a modelling analysis of the deleted form of p53 revealed a huge structural change affecting the dna-binding domain. conclusion: the tp53 mutation/deletion status plays a role in mechanism(s) ruling the pathogenesis of dlbcl and may be useful for stratifying patients into distinct prognostic subsets.