basal cell carcinoma risk and tp53 arg72pro polymorphism: an algerian population study

Background: basal cell carcinoma (bcc) is the commonest skin cancer in human. it is characterized by a strictly local malignity with a frequent tendency to relapse. bcc development results from the interaction between environmental factors and genetic alterations, including mutations in the tp53 gene involved in its progression and relapse. tp53 gene is named “guardian of the genome”, as it plays major roles in genomic stability. in addition to mutations, several polymorphisms had been detected in the wild-type tp53. the polymorphic variant is usually associated to bcc diseases at codon 72 of tp53 (arg72pro). objectives: in the present study, we undertook a case control study to explore a possible association between tp53 arg72pro poly- morphism and the predisposition to bcc in northwest algerian population. methods: tp53 arg72pro polymorphism was investigated by pcr/rflp then confirmed by dna sequencing of 61 controls versus 50 bcc cases. results: this study allows us to characterize bcc subgroups regarding age, tumor location, and relapse. no correlation was found between any of these criteria and each of the two variants of tp53 arg72pro. no association was found between tp53 arg72pro variants and developing bcc either (bcc group: pro = 54%, versus control group: pro = 53 %, p > 0.05, or 1.52 (0.89 - 2.60)). finally, as expected, sun-exposure was confirmed as a risk factor for bcc. conclusions: this study supports that analyzing tp53 arg72pro polymorphism is of no interest for identifying high-risk subjects for bcc in the algerian population. further studies are needed to explain the role of this polymorphism in genetic predisposition to bcc in some other populations.