p53 protein

The TP53 gene, located on chromosome 17, is a tumor suppressor gene, responsible for the production of the p53 protein, a transcription regulatory protein which works in concert with a number of other proteins, together forming the p53 pathway .

Inherited mutations in this gene result in the rare hereditary cancer condition known as Li-Fraumeni syndrome, which predisposes to a wide variety of malignancies .

Somatic mutations are, however, very common within many malignancies.