Polymorphisms in the human DNA polymerase beta gene.

Recently, evidence has accumulated that mutations in DNA repair genes might be associated with certain steps in carcinogenesis. The DNA polymerase beta gene is one of the DNA repair genes, and mutations in it have been detected in 83% of human colorectal cancers. To assess the involvement of polymerase beta gene mutations in the development of human prostate cancers, we performed sequence analyses of human DNA samples. Unexpectedly, we found six regions that were polymorphic. This information should be taken into consideration at the time of sequence analysis of the DNA polymerase beta gene.