Mutations of the p53 gene in B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia: a report on 39 cases with cytogenetic analysis.

Mutations of exons 5 to 8 of the p53 gene were looked for in 39 cases of B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) using polymerase chain reaction single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis and DNA sequencing. All patients also had cytogenetic analysis. A point mutation, leading to an amino acid change in the p53 protein was found in four cases, involving exon 7 (one case) or exon 8 (three cases). Mutations seemed to predominate in advanced clinical stages (Binet's stage C)