Retention of the p53 codon 72 arginine allele is associated with a reduction of disease-free and overall survival in arginine/proline heterozygous breast cancer patients.

Our findings suggest that the genotyping for p53 codon 72 locus in both the tumor tissue and in the lymph node of breast cancer patients could contribute to identify a subset of arginine/proline heterozygous patients who have a reduced survival that is associated with the specific retention of the arginine allele in the tumor tissue.