[The clinical significance of detection of p53 gene mutation in patients with lung cancer].

Objective: To assess the value of detection of p53 gene mutation in bronchial biopsy and sputum samples for the diagnosis of lung cancer.

Methods: Bronchial biopsy and sputum samples were collected from 120 patients confirmed to have lung cancer and 40 patients with benign pulmonary diseases. Polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism-AgNOS(3) staining method (PCR-SSCP) was performed for the detection of point mutation at exon 5 - 8 of the p53 gene.