The Differences in Significance of MDM2 Missense Mutations and TP53 Missense Mutations in Ovarian Epithelial Tumors

TP53 is a tumor suppressor gene that encodes the p53 protein, which promotes apoptosis, triggers DNA repair, and prevents unregulated cell growth by acting as a transcription factor for genes. This study tests the difference in pathogenicity using driver mutations in MDM2 and TP53, specifically in ovarian epithelial tumors (OETs). To see which mutations affect tumor growth more than the other, specifically in OETs, missense mutation datapoints and information regarding the impact of the genetic variant in both MDM2 and p53 were collected. Datasets from these systems contained comprehensive data that was analyzed through three different tests: Mann-Whitney U Test, Bootstrapping Test, and Permutations Test. The results from this study help offer a new foundation of understanding on the level of pathogenicity in individuals who have both MDM2 mutations and TP53 mutations in OET. After all three tests were conducted, it was concluded that the results helped prove the hypothesis that missense mutations affecting p53 prove to be more pathogenic than missense mutations affecting MDM2.