After abnormal expression of the p53 gene being found in epithelium, pterygium is now considered to be a result of uncontrolled cell proliferation, like a tumour.1,2 The p53 gene is a tumour suppressor gene, whose function is mediated by stimulation of p21 (Waf-1) gene, another tumour suppressor gene, to control cell cycle and prevent tumour formation.3 Mutations in either p53 or p21 are detected in many tumour cells,3,4 and polymorphisms of p53 codon 72 or p21 codon 31 were found to be associated with many tumours.5,6 Because of the abnormal expression of the p53 gene in pterygium epithelium1,2 and there is evidence that hereditary factors may have a role in the development of pterygium,7,8 it is logical to suspect the correlation between pterygium formation and p53 and p21 polymorphisms. In this study, p53 codon 72 and p21 codon 31 polymorphisms were evaluated in order to understand whether these two polymorphisms are associated with increased susceptibility for pterygium.
