TP53, encoding the tumour-suppressor p53, is the most frequently mutated gene across all human cancers. Similar to other transcription factors, p53 has proved notoriously difficult to target therapeutically; to date, no p53-targeted therapies have entered the clinic. The diversity ofTP53 mutations, which can be categorized across a spectrum of different functional classes, is increasingly recognized as an additional challenge to developing p53-directed treatments. Herein, Kanaga Sabapathy and David Lane review this 'rainbow of p53 mutants', and discuss the implications for anticancer therapies targeting p53 or directed by TP53status.
- Kanaga Sabapathy
- David P. Lane
