Squamous cell lung carcinomas (SCC) from former employees of the Wismut uranium mining company (Saxony, Germany) were obtained from the Stollberg Archive in order to screen for p53 tumour suppressor gene codon 249 arg→met hotspot mutations, a putative molecular bio-dosimeter of alpha-particle (radon) exposure (Taylor et al (1994) Lancet343: 86–87; McDonald et al (1995) Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prevent4: 791–793). This evidence concerns the gene TP53 and cancer.