Tumour-suppressor gene p53 encodes for an important cell-cycle regulatory protein and is therefore probably important for the development of many malignant diseases, e.g. squamous cell carcinoma of the mouth. This gene has mutated most frequently in connection with the development of cancer, so it has been well explored. Hence we chose it to find out whether swabs of the oral mucosa are suitable for supplying material for the detection of mutations in a gene that is connected with the development of oral squamous cell carcinomas, because swabs are easier to obtain than biopsies. We examined biopsies, swabs from the tumour, and swabs from mucosa that appeared healthy from 32 patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma and mucosal swabs from 35 healthy persons with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and temperature gradient gel electrophoresis (TGGE). Fourteen of the 32 patients with a tumour showed mutations of p53, and in all cases the mutation could be demonstrated both in the biopsy and in the tumour swab. In four cases the mutation was also found in the swab of normal mucosa. Our investigations revealed that swabs are a suitable method for obtaining material for the detection of gene mutations in oral squamous cell carcinomas.
