Tracy Richmond McKnight1, Kenneth J. Smith1,
Susan Chang2, Mitchel S. Berger2
1Radiology and Biomedical Imaging,
UCSF, San Francisco, CA, United States; 2Neurological Surgery,
UCSF, San Francisco, CA
Abnormal
function of p53 protein may result in compromised DNA repair and reduced
apoptosis leading to increased tumor density and resistance to DNA-damaging
therapies. We hypothesized that a downstream function of p53 might be an
alteration in cell metabolism. We compared the HRMAS MRS profile of
astrocytoma with normal (p53wt) and abnormal (p53ab) p53. Cre and NAA were lower and cell density was
higher in p53ab tumors. No correlations were observed between any of the IHC
and metabolic parameters. These findings suggest that p53 may influence the
energy production and cell density of astrocytoma; however, the exact
mechanisms remain unclear.