The gene expression signature associated with TP53 mutation/deletion in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia is dominated by the under-expression of TP53 and other genes on chromosome 17p.

In chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL), TP53 mutation and deletion are strongly associated with one another and with adverse clinical outcome. Mutant TP53 protein typically accumulates to high levels and has been reported to have transcriptional regulatory activity distinct from that of wild-type TP53. To investigate whether such an effect is relevant to CLL, carefully balanced primary CLL samples with or without TP53 mutation/deletion were compared for their gene expression profiles using high-density DNA microarrays.