Recent several studies have suggested that inactivation of p53 gene could occur by two theoretical mechanisms in cervical cancer. The E6 transforming protein of oncogenic human papillomavirus(HPV) binds to and promotes the degradation of p53 protein, or the mutation of the p53 gene could result in its inactivation without HPV infection. The purpose of this study were to investigate HPV infection and p53 mutation according to the status of lymph node metastasis and to analyse the relationship and role of HPV infection and p53 alteration in the advance and metastasis of cervical cancer. Paraffin embedded tissue sections were obtained from 30 patients with cervical cancer, each l5 patients with or without lymph node metastasis. The PCR and Southern blotting were used for the detection of HPV l6/18 DNA. Alteration of p53 activity was evaluated by immunohistochemistry using MAb DO7 and polymerase chain reaction with single stranded conformation polymorphism(PCR-SSCP). There was no significant difference in HPV infection between two groups, 73.3%(l l/15) in negative lymph node group and 80.0%(l2/15) in positive lymph node group. Although by immunohistochemistry p53 alterations were found more frequently in positive lymph node group(46.7%) than in negative lymph node group(20.0%), there was no significant difference between two groups. HPV negative cervical cancers had more p53 alterations(57.l%) than HPV positive cervical cancers(26.1%). However, there was no significant inverse relationship between HPV infection and p53 alteration. In conclusion, these data suggest that HPV infection and p53 alteration may play an important role independantly in the development of cervical cancer and p53 alteration may be associated with the advance and metastasis in some cases.
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