In line with the findings in the present study, a significantly higher prevalence of homozygosity for the p53 arginine-bearing allele was observed in Turkish breast cancer patients compared with controls (Buyru et al, 2003), whereas among Japanese breast cancer cases, Pro72 homozygosity was significantly more prevalent than in controls (32% Pro72 in cases and 40.4% in controls) (Huang et al, 2003). This evidence concerns the gene TP53 and breast cancer.