Database updates are preformed once a year and identified by a number. The current release is R15 (November 2010).

The IARC TP53 Mutation Database has been maintained and developed at the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France, since 1994. The database compiles all TP53 mutations that have been reported in the published literature since 1989. This information is useful to compile tumor-specific mutation patterns and to draw hypotheses on the nature of the molecular events involved in TP53 mutagenesis. It also allows the analysis of genotype/phenotype relationships.

The project consists in:
Performing regular review of the literature on TP53 mutations;
Developing electronic formats for the compilation, retrieval and analysis of mutation data;
Performing research on TP53 mutation patterns and clinical impacts of mutations.

The database includes various annotations on the predicted or experimentally assessed functional impact of mutations, clinicopathologic characteristics of tumors and demographic and life-style information on patients.

The database is meant to be a source of information on TP53 mutations for a broad range of scientists and clinicians who work in different research areas:

• Basic research, to study the structural and functional aspects of the p53 protein
• Molecular pathology of cancer, to understand the clinical significance of mutations identified in cancer patients
• Molecular epidemiology of cancer, to analyze the links between specific exposures and mutation patterns and to make inferences about possible causes of cancer
• Molecular genetics, to analyze genotype/phenotype relationships

The following information is freely available as a service to the scientific community:

1. The Somatic Mutation Dataset contains exclusively p53 mutations associated with human cancers that have been identified by sequencing and published in the peer-reviewed literature. It includes mutations found in normal, pre-neoplastic and neoplastic tissues, including metastases, as well as in cell lines derived from such tissues. The database does not include information on (1) mutations that have not been precisely identified by sequencing (e.g. mutations identified only by SSCP, DGGE or restriction digestion), (2) experimentally-induced mutations in tumor cells or cell lines in vitro, (3) p53 mutations in animal tumors.
Three types of information are available: mutation type, mutation prevalence and prognostic value of mutations. With the online search system, graphs and tables can be generated and the selected data can be downloaded.
See Somatic Mutation Data.

2. The Germline Mutation Dataset contains information on families fulfilling the definition of Li-Fraumeni and Li-Fraumeni related syndromes and on individuals carrying 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 defined as LFS or LFL, presenting or not a germline mutation (TP53 or other). Since we mainly concentrated on individuals carrying a TP53 germline mutation, the database does not include LFS or LFL families described in the literature and for which TP53 mutation has not been investigated.
Data are publicly released in a tab-delimited text file that can be downloaded in a compressed (zip) format. Tumor spectra associated with specific germline mutations can be analyzed with the online search system.
See Germline Mutation Data.

3. The Polymorphism dataset contains gene variations that have been found in unaffected human populations. Information on frequency of heterozygotes is provided as well as links to other resources that provide population frequencies or disease associations.
See Polymorphism Data.

4. Two datasets contain data on the biological properties of p53 mutant proteins (function datasets). The properties have been tested in functional assays performed in yeast or human cells. Information on the experimental system used, the reference from which the information has been extracted and the results of the functional tests is compiled.
See p53 Mutant Function Data.

5. A dataset on TP53 gene mutation status in human cell-lines can be searched online as of October 2006.
See Cell-line Data.

6. A mutation validation tool has been implemented to help formating mutation data and interpreting the functional significance of specific mutations.
See Mutation Validation.

7. Information on p53 3D protein structure and structural impact of mutations is provided through different tools. Data on the stability of some mutant proteins are also given.
See Structure Analysis.

8. A dataset on mouse-models has been added since the R12 release. It consists in a list of mouse models with engineered Tp53 that are compiled in the caMOD database or reported in the scientific literature.
See Mouse-Models.