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The IARC TP53 database contains exclusively TP53 mutations associated with human cancers that have been identified by sequencing and published in the peer-reviewed literature or curated from other genomic databases.

Data are organized in datasets that can be searched and analyzed with graph tools (see below) or fully downloaded.

Downloaded files, annotations and graph tools are described below.

Datasets and their annotations

Gene variations

geneVariationIARC TP53 Database,R20.txt


Column head Description
MUT_ID Unique identifier of each gene variation reported in the database. This identifier is used in all datasets (somatic, polymorhisms, germline).
hg19_Chr17_coordinates Chromosome coordinate of mutation: start position based on hg19 human genome assembly.
hg38_Chr17_coordinates Chromosome coordinate of mutation: start position based on hg38 human genome assembly.
ExonIntron Location of the mutation in the introns or exons in TP53 gene for the reference sequence NM_000546.5. Terms occurring in this column are "1-intron"' to "11-intron" and "2-exon" to "11-exon". An "i" or "e" in front mean that the mutation is located within the indicated intron or exon with no information on the precise location.
Codon_number For mutations in exons, codon number at which the mutation is located (1-393). If a mutation spans more than one codon, (e.g. tandem mutation or deletion of several bases) only the first (5') codon is entered. For mutations in introns, 0 is entered.
WT_nucleotide Base in the reference sequence at the position of the mutation on the coding sequence.
Mutant_nucleotide Mutant base, described on the coding strand.
Description Nucleotide change read from the coding sequence. For deletions and insertions, the number of bases deleted (del) or inserted (ins) is given. For more complex mutation events, a full description is given as indicated in the original publication.
c_description Mutation nomenclature according to HGVS standards and using the NM_000546.5 coding sequence as reference.
g_description Mutation nomenclature according to HGVS standards and using the GenBank NC_000017.10 (hg19 assembly) genomic sequence as reference.
g_description_GRCh38 Mutation nomenclature according to HGVS standards and using the GenBank NC_000017.11 (hg38 assembly) genomic sequence as reference.
Type Nature of the mutation. The terms occurring in this column are "A:T>C:G" (A to C or T to G base change), "A:T>G:C" (A to G or T to C base change), "A:T>T:A" (A to T or T to A base change), "G:C>A:T" (G to A or C to T base change at non CpG sites), "G:C>A:T at CpG" (G to A or C to T base change at CpG sites), "G:C>C:G" (G to C or C to G base change), "G:C>T:A" (G to T or C to A base change), "tandem" (two consecutive base changes), "ins" (insertion), "del" (deletion) and "complex" (complex changes).
Splice_site Annotation on the position of the mutation within conserved nucleotides of p53 consensus, criptic or alternative splice sites:
consensus SD or SA= the mutation is located at conserved dinucleotides involved in p53 consensus splice sites (SD for splice donor site, SA for splice acceptor site) producing the full-lenght p53 protein (TA isoform);
criptic SD or SA= the mutation is located at conserved dinucleotides involved in splice sites (gt or ag) that have been observed experimentally in p53 sequences carrying mutated consensus splice sites;
alternative SD or SA= conserved dinucleotides involved in splice sites (gt or ag) responsible for producing p53 isoforms beta and gamma;
alternative = mutated nucleotides are in the "cassette" sequence responsible for producing the p53 delta isoform;
no= the position is outside the above mentioned nucleotides.
Information on splice site can be found here.
CpG_site Yes or No indicate if the position of the mutation falls within a CpG site or not.
Context_coding Trinucleotide sequence context of variants. The 5' base and 3' base of the start position of the variant are indicated on the left and right respectively of the mutated base. This context is provided on the coding strand of the gene sequence and is based on hg38 TP53 sequence.
Mut_rate Substitution rates were calculated for all single base substitutions in the coding sequence of p53 according to the dinucleotide substitution rates derived from human-mouse aligned sequences of chromosomes 21 and 10 (Lunter and Hein 2004). The mutation probabilities for a given single nucleotide substitution are calculated by averaging the dinucleotide substitution rates at that position for the forward and reverse strands.
WT_codon For mutations in exons, sequence of the codon in which the mutation occurred in NM_000546.5 transcript.
Mutant_codon Base sequence of the mutated codon in NM_000546.5 transcript.
WT_AA Wild-type amino acid encoded at the codon in which the mutation occurred (three-letter amino acid abbreviation). Check AA letter code and Genetic code
Mutant_AA Mutated amino acid encoded at the codon in which the mutation occurred (three-letter amino acid abbreviation). The chain terminating mutations due to single base substitutions are designated by "stop".    Check AA letter code and Genetic code
ProtDescription Mutation description at the protein level as recommended by HGVS and using the Uniprot reference sequence P04637.
Mut_rateAA Mutation rate of amino-acid substitution calculated by summing up the nucleotide substitution rates. This value is only valid for amino-acid substitutions resulting from single nucleotide substitutions.
Effect Effect of the mutation. The terms occurring in this column are: missense (change of one amino-acid), nonsense (introduction of a stop codon), FS (frameshift), silent (no change in the protein sequence), splice (mutations located in the two first and two last conserved nucleotides of the introns and are thus predicted to alter splicing, or mutations that have been shown to alter splicing experimentally), other (inframe deletions or insertions), intronic (mutations in introns outside splicing sites), NA (mutations upstream in 5' or 3' UTR).
Polymorphism Polymorphic status of the gene variation.
Validated : MAF > 0.001 in ESP6500, 1000G or gnomAD databases;
No : not reported or reported at MAF < 0.001 in ESP6500, 1000G, or gnomAD databases;
NA : not applicable.
SNPlink Link to NCBI SNP database.
gnomADlink Link to gnomAD database.
SourceDatabases SNP databases from which the variants have been extracted.
PubMedlink PubMedID of the publications in which was reported the polymorphic status of the variant.
Domain function Function of the domain in which the mutated residue is located.
Residue function Known function of the wild-type residue. When the function is not known but the structure is known, the solvent accessibility (SA) of the residue is indicated by the terms buried, exposed or partially exposed (SA calculated with Naccess and 1TSR (chain B) structure of p53: <20 = buried, > =20 and <50 = partially exposed, > =50 = exposed).
Hotspot "Yes" indicate the a variant is located in a codon defined as a cancer hotspot by Chang (2017).
Structural_motif 2D and 3D motifs where the mutation is located according to structures described in Cho et al. (1994) and May and May (1999)
SA Solvent accessibility of the wild-type residue as calculated with Naccess and the 1TSR (chain B) structure of p53.
AGVGD class Missense variant functional predictions by an optimized Align-GVGD tool. Mutations classified as "C0" are considered tolerated while other classes are considered damaging. Further details in Fortuno (2018).
BayesDel Missense variant functional predictions by BayesDel tool (Feng 2017) used without allele frequency.
Score >=0.16: damaging
Score <0.16: tolerated
Further details in Fortuno (2018).
REVEL Missense variant functional predictions by REVEL tool (Ioannidis 2016).
Score >=0.5: damaging
Score <0.5: tolerated
Further details in Fortuno (2018).
SIFT class Functional classification based on SIFT program using default settings. Missense mutations are classified as "damaging" or "tolerated".
Polyphen2 Functional classification based on Polyphen2 HVAR annotations retrieved with Annovar software:
D: probably Damaging
P: Possibly damaging
B: Benign.
Transactivation Promoter-specific transcriptional activity measured in yeast functional assays and expressed as percent of wild-type activity. Data from Kato (2003)
TransactivationClass Functional classification based on the overall transcriptional activity (TA) on 8 different promoters as measured in yeast assays by Kato et al. For each mutant, the median of the 8 promoter-specific activities (expressed as percent of the wild-type protein) is calculated and missense mutations are classified as "non-functional" if the median is <=20, "partially functional" if the median is >20 and <=75, "functional" if the median is >75 and <=140, and "supertrans" if the median is >140.
DNE_LOFclass Functional classification for loss of growth-suppression and dominant-negative activities based on Z-scores from Giacomelli et al., (2018) study:
DNE_LOF = p53WTNutlin3 Z-score >= 0.61 and Etoposide Z-score <= -0.21;
notDNE_notLOF = p53WTNutlin3 Z-score < 0.61 and Etoposide Z-score > -0.21;
notDNE_LOF if p53WTNutlin3 Z-score < 0.61 and Etoposide Z-score <= -0.21;
unclass = others 
DNE class Dominant-negative (DN) Effect on transactivation by wild-type p53.
Classification established for mutants for which available DN activity on more than 2 p53-response elements is available. Data are based on WAF1 and RGC promoters in various studies (these promoters were the most frequently used in different studies to assess DNE status), and on two large systematic study (Dearth et al that includes 76 mutants; Monti et al that includes 104 mutants).
Mutants were classified as "Yes" if they had dominant-negative activity on both WAF1 and RGC promoters, or on all promoters in the large studies, "Moderate" if they had dominant-negative activity on some but not all promoters, and "No" if they had no dominant-negative activity on both WAF1 and RGC promoters, or none of the promoters in the large studies.
Structure/Function class Functional predictions derived from a computer model that takes into account the 3D structure of WT and mutant proteins and is trained on the transactivaton dataset from Kato et al. Mutations are classified as "functional" or "non-functional". More details here.
EffectGroup3 Mutation classification based on protein 3D structure and mutation type. This classification has been used to derive gentoype-phenotype correlations in sporadic breast cancers (Olivier et al., 2006).
0=silent+intron;
1=missense in DNA-binding loops(L2,H1,L3,L1,S2,S2',H2);
2=other missense;
3=inFrame del/ins;
4=FS+splice+nonsense.
SwissProtLink SwissProt identification number with link to the variant page of the SwissProt database.
Somatic_count Number of occurence in the IARC somatic dataset (number of tumors reported to carry this somatic mutation). Total count is 29891 in R20.
Germline_count Number of occurence in the IARC germline dataset (number of pedigree/individual carriers of this germline mutation). Total count is 1532 in R20.
CellLine_count Number of occurence in the IARC cell-line dataset (number of cell-lines reported to carry this mutation). Total cell-line count is 2766 in R20.
COSMIClink Link to mutation ID in COSMIC database.
CLINVARlink Link to CLINVAR database.
TCGA_ICGC_GENIE_count Sum of mutation occurence from TCGA (MC3), ICGC (v28) and GENIE (V5) datasets. Total count is 23570.

Predicted effect on splicing:


Column head Description
Site Type Indicate if the predicted splice site is an acceptor site or donor site.
p53 Site Indicate if the predicted splice site correspond to a canonical p53 splice site.
WT score Fit score of the predicted splice site for the non-mutated sequence (scores are specific of prediction tools).
MUT score Fit score of the predicted splice site for the mutated sequence (scores are specific of prediction tools).
Variation Predicted effect of the mutation on the predicted splice site.
Source Prediction tool used.

Predicted effect on p53 protein isoforms:


The predictions provided are based on whether the mutation falls within the specific isoform. For a description of p53 isoforms, see here.

Column head Description
TAp53alpha Indicate if the mutation fall within the canonical isoform coding for the full length p53 protein.
TAp53beta....deltap53alpha Indicate if the mutation fall within the specified isoform.

Somatic mutations found in human tumor samples

somaticMutationDataIARC TP53 Database, R20.txt

This dataset contains TP53 somatic mutations identified in human tumor samples (including metastasis and cell-lines). It includes data on the type and position of mutations, detailed information on the tumor in which the mutations have been found, and on various characteristics of the patients in which the tumor developed.

Each row in the downloaded tab-delimited text file represents a single mutation reported in a tumor sample with an arbitrarily assigned unique identification number. A unique identification number is also attributed to the tumor sample and to the patient. Table content is as follows:

Column head Description
The first set of columns describe the mutation.
Mutation_ID Unique identification number for a Sample/Mutation association.
Tandem mutations (two adjacent base substitutions) are considered as one mutation event; therefore tandem mutations have only one identification number and are a single record.
MUT_ID....SwissProtLink see mutation annotations
The second set of columns are assigned to the description of the organ site, tissue and type of lesion in which the mutation has been identified. The descriptions given in the publication are translated into the standards of the International Classification of Diseases for Oncology (ICD-O 3rd Edition, World Health Organization, Geneva, 2000) and SNOMED.
For information on tumor classification, grading and staging, check out ICD-O training at SEER, Cancer Information at NCI and Oncologychannel.com.
Sample_Name A sample name is assigned as follows: first 3 letters of the first author's name, year of publication (2 digit), followed by the ID number indicated in the publication. The same name or number can occur several times as in some samples more than one mutation has been reported.
Sample_ID Unique sample identification number. This number allows the automatic retrieval of samples with multiple mutations.
Sample_source...TNM see sample annotations
p53_IHC p53 immunostaining graded as ‘positive’, ‘negative’ or ‘+/-‘. ND stands for not done.
Add_Info Any relevant additional information is entered here.
The third set of columns are assigned to the description of the patient origin and life-style. They contain heterogeneous notes, usually comments emphasized by authors reporting the mutations. It should be noted that this information is generally qualitative. No quantitative information on exposure of risk factors is included in the database. This information does not presuppose that a formal, causal link has been established between such factors and the mutation described. Moreover, for most exogenous risk factors, individual exposure has not been monitored. This information is given solely to (i) permit the retrieval of mutations found in patients belonging to defined groups or having specific risk factors, and (ii) facilitate access to the corresponding publications. For detailed comparison between exposure groups, users are invited to perform their own analysis based on the information given in the original publication.
Individual_ID Unique identification number for an individual included in the database. It is automatically assigned by the database system.
Sex...Country see patient annotations
TP53polymorphism Presence of a polymorphism in TP53 gene.
Germline_mutation Germline mutation detected in any gene in the patient.
Family_history Information on the presence or absence of cancers in the family of the patient.
Tobacco Information on the smoking status of the patient. Terms occurring in this column are 'smoker' (with qualitative amount in brackets), 'non-smoker', 'passive-smoker' and chewer.
Alcohol Information on the drinking status of the patient. Terms occurring in this column are ‘drinker’ (with qualitative amount in brackets), and 'non-drinker'.
Exposure Risk factors to which the patient has been exposed to, such as aflatoxins, radon, thorotrast, etc…
Infectious_agent Pathogen (virus or bacteria) detected in the patient.
Ref_ID Unique identification number for the reference in which the mutation is described.
PubMed PubMed reference number provided by NCBI.
Exclude_analysis Studies that we recommend to exclude from any analysis because of dubious quality. Such studies are identified based on the following criteria: they report several samples with multiple mutations, and/or a high proportion of rare variants or variants classified as functional.

somaticMutationReference-IARC TP53 Database, R20.txt

This file lists the publications in which are described the mutations and gives the method used to detect the mutations. Each row (record) represents a citation with an arbitrarily assigned unique identification number (Ref_ID). See standardized annotations for the description of the column content.


Prevalence of TP53 somatic mutations by tumor site

prevalenceSomaticIARC TP53 Database, R20.txt

This dataset contains information on the proportion of tumors that carry a somatic TP53 mutation extracted from publications contained in the Somatic dataset, and in additional publications that do not give a detailed description of the mutations (many studies do not provide detailed information on each mutation detected but rather report their results in the form of summary tables, preventing their inclusion in the somaticMutation dataset), or publications reporting negative results (no mutation found, thus not included in the somaticMutation dataset).

For each study, the total number of tumors or tissue samples analyzed, and the number of these samples which were found to contain a mutation is provided.The reference paper, method of mutation detection and country of origin of the patients are also indicated. When the same research team published several papers that describe the same set of samples, data from the most recent or more complete paper are used.

Column head Description
Prevalence_ID Unique entry identification number.
Topography...Morpho_code see sample annotations
Sample_analyzed Number of tumor samples analyzed for TP53 mutations.
Sample_mutated Number of tumor samples with a mutation in TP53.
Country...Development see patient annotations
Comment Any relevant information.
Ref_ID...PubMed see reference annotations
Tissue_processing....exon 11 see method annotations
Exclude_Analysis Studies that we recommend to exclude from any analysis because of data quality issues. Studies are labeled as 'exclude' if: they report several samples with multiple mutations in patients with no specific genetic background or exposure to mutagen; they report more variants that are classified as functional or partially functional (based on TA class) than variants classified as non-functional; mutations are not precisely described and can not be fully annotated in the database; several mutations in the series are reported with errors (such as position and base that do not fit, or report of neutral polymorphisms as somatic mutations).

Prevalence of the R249S TP53 mutations in liver cancer

This dataset contains data on the prevalence of the c.747G>T (p.R249S) mutation in liver cancers. It includes studies that have screened at least exon 7 of TP53 by sequencing, and studies that have searched for this specific mutation by RFLP. The presence of this mutation in hepatocellular carcinomas has been linked to exposure to aflatoxins and HBV, and may thus constitutes a biomarker of exposure. This dataset has been released with the R15 version of the database and has not been updtaed since then.

The file is a tab-delimited text file, that contains the following info:

Column head Description
Ref_ID...PubMed see reference annotations.
Country see patient annotations
Sample_analyzed Number of tumor samples analyzed for the c.747G>T (p.R249S) TP53 mutation.
Count_R249S Number of tumor samples containing the c.747G>T (p.R249S) TP53 mutation.
Remark Any relevant information.
Method Comment on method if different from sequencing.

Prognostic value of TP53 somatic mutations

prognosisSomatic-IARC TP53 Database,R20

This dataset includes information on all studies that have analyzed the relationship between p53 mutations and cancer prognosis. For each study, the patient cohort, study settings and a summary of the results are described. When the same research team published several papers with increasing number of patients, the most recent paper with the largest dataset is used.

Many of these studies do not provide detailed information on each mutation detected but rather report their results in the form of summary tables. Such publications have been included in the prognosis dataset but not in the somaticMutation dataset. For some of them, the mutations have been published in a previous paper and can be retrieved with the Cross_Ref_ID study identifier (see below).

The downloaded file contains the following information:

Column head Description
Prognosis_ID Unique entry identification number.
Topography see sample annotations
Morphology see sample annotations
Population see patient annotations
Country see patient annotations
Institution Name of the hospital(s) where the patients have been recruited.
Period Time period (year) during which the patients have been recruited.
Inclusion criteria ICD-O (3rd edition) or SNOMED code for morphology
Treatment Treatment protocol used for most of the patients.
SU, surgery; CX, chemotherapy; RX, radiotherapy; pre-op, pre-operative; CP, cyclophosphamide; CISP, cisplatin; doxo, doxorubicin; 5-FU, 5-fluorouracil
Median FU Median follow-up time of the patients in month.
Range FU Range follow-up time of the patients in month.
Cohort Number of patients/tumors analyzed for TP53 mutations.
p53 mutations Number of patients/tumors with a mutation in TP53.
Percent mutated Proportion of mutated tumors (%).
Parameter_analyzed Clinical parameter analyzed (patient survival and/or tumor response to treatment).
Association Summary result: association with the presence of a TP53 mutation.
Result Main findings.
Ref_ID...PubMed see annotations.
Exclude_analysis Papers that we recommend to exclude from analysis because of dubious data quality (report several samples with multiple mutations, and/or a high proportion of rare variants or variants classified as neutral or functional).

Germline mutations in LFS/LFL families

germlineMutationData-IARC TP53 Database,R20

Inherited TP53 mutations are associated with a rare autosomal dominant disorder, the Li-Fraumeni syndrome (LFS).

This dataset contains information on individuals that are carriers of a TP53 germline mutation and families in which at least one family member has been identied as a carrier of a germline mutation in the TP53 gene. Criteria for inclusion are the following: a) individuals carrying a sequenced TP53 germline mutation, affected or not by a cancer, b) individuals affected by a cancer and belonging to a family in which at least one family member has been identified as a carrier of a germline mutation in the TP53 gene.

Each row (record) in the downloaded file represents a tumor found in an individual having a TP53 germline mutation. The file contains the following information:

Column head Description
Family_ID Unique family identification number.
Family_Code Name or number given in the original publication or an arbitrarily-assigned name, usually the 3 first letters of the first author's name and the publication date.
Country see annotations
Class Family classification:
LFS = strict clinical definition of Li-Fraumeni syndrome (defined by Li and Fraumeni as a Proband with sarcoma <45 years with a first degree relative with cancer at <45 and another first/second degree relative with cancer at <45 or sarcoma at any age);
LFL = Li-Fraumeni like for the extended clinical definition of Li-Fraumeni (including Birch definition: proband with any childhood cancer or sarcoma, brain tumor or adrenocortical carcinoma at <45 years, with one first or second degree relative with sarcoma, breast cancer, brain tumor, leukemia, or adrenocortical carcinoma at any age, plus one first or second degree relative in the same lineage with any cancer diagnosed under age 60; Eeles definition E1: two different tumors which are part of extended LFS in first or second degree relatives at any age (sarcoma, breast cancer, brain tumor, leukemia, adrenocortical tumor, melanoma, prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer); Eeles definition E2: sarcoma at any age in the proband with two of the following (two of the tumors may be in the same individual): breast cancer at <50 years and/or brain tumor, leukemia, adrenocortical tumor, melanoma, prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer at <60 years or sarcoma at any age).
FH: family history of cancer which does not fulfil LFS or any of the LFL definitions (Birch, Eeles E1 or E2,);
No FH: no family history of cancer.; FH= Family history of cancer (not fulfilling the definition of LFS/LFL); No= no family history of cancer; ?= unknown.
Generations_analyzed Number of generations analyzed in the family.
Germline_mutation A TP53 germline mutation has been identified.
MUT_ID...TAclass see mutation annotations
Individual_ID Unique identification number for an individual included in the database. It is automatically assigned by the database system.
Individual_code Code or number given in the original publication or an arbitrarily-asigned code, usually the family code followed by the position of the individual in the family tree.
FamilyCase Family case in the pedigree, such as proband (index case), mother, father,....
FamilyCase_group Degree of relationship to the proband.
Sex Gender of the individual.
Germline_carrier TP53 mutation status of the individual: confirmed= the individual has been tested for the presence of the mutation and the mutation has been found; obligatory= the individual has not been tested for the presence of the mutation but must be carrier based on the mutation status of the other individuals in the pedigree; 50%prob.= there is a chance of 50% that the individual is a mutation carrier; negative= the individual has been tested for the presence of the mutation and the mutation has not been found; NA= the individual has not been tested for the presence of the mutation.
Mode_of_inheritance Mode of mutation inheritance: P=paternal, M=maternal, M&P=maternal and paternal, de novo= mutation that has not been inherited, "de novo, mosaic"= mutation that has not been inherited and is present in a subpopulation of cells, na=not known.
Dead Living status of the individual at time of follow-up. 0=alive; 1=dead
Unaffected Disease status of the individual at time of follow-up. 0 = affected by cancer; 1 = not affected by cancer.
Age Age of the individual at the time of follow-up.
Topography see annotations
Morphology see annotations
Age at diagnosis Age of the individual at the time of diagnosis of the tumor.
Ref_ID Reference number indicating the publication in which the mutation is described. This number corresponds to the Ref_ID number in the GermlineRefR20 file.

germlineMutationReference-IARC TP53 Database,R20

Each row represents a reference identified by a unique identification number (Ref_ID). See standard annotations for a description of the column content.


germlinePrevalenceIARC TP53 Database, R20

This dataset includes studies reporting TP53 germline mutation screening in large cohorts of patients selected based on various criteria (family history of cancer, specific cancer diagnosis, ...) Each row represents the result of the analysis of TP53 germline mutation status in a selected cohort.

Column head Description
Diagnosis Tumor site or clinical description of the selected cohort.
Cohort Detailed criteria for patient selection.
Cases analyzed Number of patients included in the mutation screen.
Cases mutated Number of patients found to carry a TP53 mutation. Details on mutations can be found in the dataset of germline mutations when the information was provided, but many studies do not provide a detailed list of mutations.
Mutation prevalence Percent of mutated cases.
Remark Any further information on the cohort or method.
PubMed PubMed ID with link to ncbi database.

germlineFrequency_IARCTP53Database_R20

This new dataset includes studies reporting the frequency of individual TP53 germline mutations in case-control series using NGS for the screening of the entire coding regions of TP53.

Column head Description
MUT_ID....DNEclass see mutation annotations
Freq_cases Frequency of the TP53 variant in cases.
Freq_controls Frequency of the TP53 variant in controls.
Total_Cases Number of patients included in the "case" group.
N_Cases Number of cases found to carry the specific TP53 variant. Details on mutation phenotype may be found in the dataset of germline mutations if enough details is provided on patients and tumor type.
Total_Controls Number of patients included in the "control" group.
N_Controls Number of controls found to carry the specific TP53 variant.
DataSource PubMed ID of the paper from which data have been extracted.
StudyDetails Description of the case and control groups.

Functional activities of missense mutations

Data on the biological properties of p53 mutant proteins in functional assays performed in yeast or human cells, are provided in two datasets.

functionalAssessment-IARC TP53 Database, R20

warning In this dataset, data were extracted from publications that report functional assessment of p53 mutant proteins in human or yeast cells, assessed either by transfection and overexpression of mutant proteins, or by assessment of endogenous mutants. Comparison between mutants requires caution since functional assays differ from one study to the other, in particular with respect to the expression vector (which influences the level of expression of the mutant protein), the p53-responsive elements (generic consensus sequence versus gene-specific response elements from WAF1, BAX or PIG3), and the recipient cells that have been used.

The functional properties of mutant proteins that are included in this dataset are:

- transcriptional activities on various well-described p53-RE,
- dominant negative effects on the activities of wild-type p53,
- capacity to induce apoptosis, cell-cycle arrest or checkpoints in human cells,
- capacity to transactivate promoters that are not induced by wild-type p53,
- ability to promote cell growth and confer tumorigenicity,
- sensitivity to temperature changes regarding their ability to transactivate specific promoters.

The functional results have been organised in 5 columns for (1) conserved wild-type properties, (2) complete or partial loss of wild-type properties, (3) dominant-negative effects, (4) gain of function and (5) temperature sensitivity. The cell system is indicated in two columns and a detailed reference to the published report is given.

Column head Description
Function_ID Unique identification number for each entry.
ProtDescription...Structural_motif see mutation annotations
Codon 72 Amino-acid at codon 72 of p53 (polymorphism)
Conserved WT function Functional property of mutant that is similar to the activity of the wild-type protein.

- Activities of mutant proteins in human or yeast cells:
DNAb = DNA binding capacity tested by gel-shift or ChIP assay;
TA = transactivation of a reporter gene under the control of a p53-response element (indicated in brakets, see list here);
TR = transrepression of a reporter gene under the control of a gene-specific response-element (name of gene indicated in brakets)
TETR = capacity to form tetramers;
x binding = interaction with protein x;

drug sensitivity = conserved capacity to mediate cytotoxic effect of drug (specific drug used is indicated, see List of abbreviations).

- Activities of over-expressed mutant proteins in human cells:
APO = induction of apoptosis;
GS = growth suppression measured by colony forming assay (CFA), establishment of stable clones, or other proliferation assay;
GA = cell cycle arrest measured by FACS;
TUMOR- = inhibition of tumorigenicity in nude mice;
up/downregulation = induction or repression of an endogenous GENE (in upper-case letters) or protein (in lowercase letters);
HR repression = inhibition of Homologous Recombination;

- Biological effect after over-expression in mouse or rat embryonic fibroblasts:
TRANSF- = ability to counteract the transformation of primary cells induced by the co-transfection of ras or another transformant oncogene, such as HPV E7;

"super" indicates that the activity of mutant protein is higher than the one of wtp53 (on transactivation, induction of apoptosis, DNA binding or growth suppression).
Loss of Function WTp53 functional property that is lost by the mutant protein.
Same annotations as in previous column, with partial" indicating that the loss of function is partial (residual activity).
Dominant negative activity Inhibition of the wild-type protein by mutant proteins in transactivation or cell growth assays.
- Yes = the mutant protein counteract the activity of the wild-type protein when the two proteins are co-expressed in human or yeast cells (the p53-response element or cell growth assay performed is indicated in brakets);
- No = the mutant protein does not counteract the effects of the wild-type protein.

"moderate" indicates that the mutant protein has a partial inhibiting effect on the wild-type protein.
Gain of Function Functional properties displayed by the mutant but not by the wild-type protein.

- Activities of over-expressed mutant proteins in human or yeast cells:
same annotations as in column 9, plus:
TUMOR+ = confer tumorigenic property (in nude mice) to transfected cells;
p73 interference = ability to counteract p73 activity when both proteins are expressed in a cell system;
Drug resistance = confer resistance to a cytotoxic drug (see List of abbreviations);
Growth advantage = increase growth rate.

- Biological effect after over-expression in mouse or rat embryonic fibroblasts:
TRANSF+ = ability to cooperate with ras or another transformant oncogene, such as HPV E7, in the transformation of primary cells.

"moderate" indicates that the mutant protein has a partial effect on the activity studied; "no" indicates that the mutant protein has no effect on the activity studied.
Temperature sensitivity Sensitivity of mutant to temperature changes in transactivation assays (the p53-RE is indicated in brackets), and in other experimental assays (specified in brackets).
Yes = the activity of the mutant protein is affected by the temperature at which is preformed the test;
  mut_H = the protein is inactive (mutant) at higher temperatures;
  mut_L = the protein is inactive (mutant) at lower temperatures;
No = the activity of the mutant protein is NOT affected by the temperature at which is preformed the test.

Note that functional tests are performed at different temperature in yeast (30ÝC) and human (37ÝC) cells. Detailed annotation rules are available here.
Temp_ref Temperature at which experiments have been performed or which has been used as reference for temperature sensitivity assays.
Cell assay Human = the activity of the mutant protein has been tested in human cells.
Yeast = the activity of the mutant protein has been tested in the yeast.
cellLines Name of cell-line(s) that have been used for testing mutant activities. "(endo)" indicates that activities have been tested on endogenous mutants.
Assay design Indicates if the assay has been performed with or without wtp53 as control, or if activity has been tested on endogenous mutant.
Method Details on type of experimental assay that was performed to assess function.
FRef_ID...PubMed see reference annotations).

systematicFunctionalAssessment-IARC TP53 Database, R20

The functional data that are included in this dataset were provided by Chikashi Ishioka and have been published in Kato et al., Kakudo et al., and Kawaguchi et al..

Column head Description
ProtDescription...codon number see mutation annotations
WAF1nWT, MDM2nWT, BAXnWT,... Promoter-specific transcriptional activity measured in yeast functional assays and expressed as percent of wild-type activity.
WAF1nWT_Saos2, MDM2nWT_Saos2,... Promoter-specific transcriptional activity measured in the human cell-line Saos-2. Values are normalized with p53-null vector values and expressed as percent of wild-type activity.
SubG1nWT_Saos2 Induction of apoptosis by overexpression in Saos-2 cells expressed as percent of wild-type activity.
Oligomerisation_yeast Capacity of mutant protein to form oligomer:
TETR=can form tetramer,
DIM=can form dimer but not tetramer,
MON= can not oligomerarize.

TP53 status of Human Cell-Lines

CellLinesMutationStatus-IARC TP53 Database,R20

This dataset includes cell-lines that have been screened for TP53 mutation and have been published in the scientific literature, or in the Sanger cell-line database or the Broad Cancer cell-line Encyclopedia.

Column head Description
Sample_ID Unique sample identification number.
Sample_name Name of the cell-line.
ATCC_ID Identification number of the ATCC database.
Cosmic_ID Link to sample cell-line data in the Cancer Cell Line Project of COSMIC databases of the Sanger Institute.
depmap_ID Link to sample cell-line data in the depmap project.
Short_topo...Tumor_origin see sample annotations
Add_info
Sex Gender of the patient from whom the cell-line has been isolated.
Age Age at cancer diagnosis of the patient from whom the cell-line has been isolated.
Country...Population see patient annotations.
Germline_mutation Germline mutation in TP53 or any other gene carried by the individual from which the cell-line has been isolated.
Infectious_agent Infectious agent (virus or bacteria) detected in the individual from which the cell-line has been isolated.
Tobacco Smoking habit of the individual from which the cell-line has been isolated.
Alcohol Drinking habit of the individual from which the cell-line has been isolated.
Exposure Reported exposure of the individual from which the cell-line has been isolated.
KRAS_status Status of KRAS gene. WT= wild-type; MUT=mutant (base change indicated in brackets)
Other_mutations Name of other genes in which a mutation has been identified.
TP53status Status of TP53 gene. WT= wild-type gene sequence; MUT= mutated gene sequence; NULL= entire gene deletion; LOE= loss of gene expression without gene mutation.
p53_IHC p53 immuno-staining status.
p53_LOH Loss of heterozygocity at p53 locus. Yes= LOH, No= no LOH, NI= non informative, NA= no information
MUT_ID... TP53 mutation description and functional properties, see mutation and function annotations.
Ref_ID... Same as somatic Ref_ID, see reference annotations.
Tissue_processing... see method annotations.

Mouse models with engineered TP3

The dataset contains mouse models with engineered p53 that are compiled in the caMOD database or reported in the scientific literature. Data curated at caMOD were courteously provided by the caMOD team. A direct link to the caMOD web site is available for each model for a detailed description of model genetics and phenotypes. Data reported in the literature but not compiled in caMOD are curated at IARC and a link to PubMed abstract is provided. For a detailed description of model genetics and phenotypes, please refer to caMOD and/or original publication


Mouse ModelsIARC TP53 Database, R20


Column head Description
Model descriptor Model name as indicated in caMOD or original publication.
Affected organs List of organs affected or targeted by transgene.
AA change in human Amino-acid substitution. Note that amino-acids are numbered according to the human sequence.
caMOD link Model ID from caMOD database.
PubMed PMID link to original publication.

Experimentally induced mutations

This dataset contains list of mutations in the human TP53 gene obtained from mutagenicity assays in the Hupki mouse model (MEF cells treated with the indicated carcinogen agent) or in a yeast assay. See original papers for detailed methods.


inducedMutationIARC TP53 Database, R20


Column head Description
MUT_ID Unique ID for the mutation, used across datasets.
Exposure Agents to which were exposed the cells.
c_description Mutation described on the cDNA sequence. See mutation annotations
g_description Mutation described at the genome level. See mutation annotations
Model Experimental assay/model used.
Clone_ID ID of cell clone isolated from the exposed cell population.
Add info Additional details provided on assay or cell clone as derived from original publication.
PubMed PMID with link to PubMed abstract that describe the model.

Standardized annotations
List of abbreviations
Graphs and search options