p53 mutations in sweat gland carcinomas.

Sweat gland carcinomas are rare skin tumours and little is known about their etiology and molecular basis. In this study, we analyzed p53 mutations in 16 sweat gland carcinomas with different histologic types, including 2 spiradenocarcinomas, 1 composed adnexal carcinoma, 5 porocarcinomas, 2 eccrine hidradenocarcinomas, 2 syringocystadenocarcinomas, 1 sclerosing sweat gland carcinoma, 1 adenoid cystic carcinoma, 1 cylindrocarcinoma and 1 apocrine adenocarcinoma. Single-stranded conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analyses followed by direct DNA sequencing revealed that 5 carcinomas (31%) contained a p53 mutation, 4 of which were G:C-->A:T transition mutations and 1 of which was a deletion. Three G:C-->A:T mutations were located at dipyrimidine sequences on the antisense strand (2 spiradenocarcinomas, 1 eccrine hidradenocarcinoma), suggesting that UV light may play a role in the development of sweat gland carcinomas. In 2 spiradenocarcinomas, p53 mutations were present in the carcinoma but not in the adenoma portions, suggesting that p53 mutations may be associated with malignant progression in these rare adnexal tumours.