Here, we review ∼15 years of research into an unusual germline TP53 mutation (p.R337H) that began with its detection in children with adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC), a remarkably rare childhood cancer that is associated with poor prognosis.
Screening for the p.R337H mutation identified 11 carriers (3.7%), 9 of whom were diagnosed with adrenocortical carcinomas (ACC) and 2 of whom were diagnosed with choroid plexus carcinomas.
R337H has been identified in Brazilian families with Li-Fraumeni or related syndromes predisposing to cancers in childhood (ie, brain, renal, and adrenocortical carcinomas), adolescence (ie, soft tissue and bone sarcomas), and young adulthood (ie, breast cancer).
Families with the R337H mutation presented a wide spectrum of tumours, including breast cancers (30.4%), brain cancers (10.7%), soft tissue sarcomas (10.7%) and adrenocortical carcinomas (8.9%).
The TP53 R337H mutation dramatically increases predisposition to childhood ACT but not to other cancers, and explains the increased frequency of ACT observed in this geographic region.
Recently, a characteristic TP53 mutation at codon 337 (R337H) has been identified in the germline of children with adrenocortical carcinoma in Southern Brazil.
The tetramerization domain for wild-type p53 (p53tet-wt) and a p53 mutant, R337H (p53tet-R337H), associated with adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) in children, can be converted from the soluble native state to amyloid-like fibrils under certain conditions.