The c-raf-1 proto-oncogene is the cellular homologue of v-raf, the oncogene of the acutely transforming retrovirus 3611-MSV. The product of c-raf-1 (raf-1) is a 74-kDa cytoplasmic serine/threonine protein kinase. We previously reported that antisense human c-raf-1 cDNA transfection results in reduction of the endogenous c-raf-1 transcript, decreased tumor growth rate, and enhanced radiation sensitivity of SQ-20B tumor cells established from a radiation-resistant laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma. In the study reported here, we used cDNA-linked polymerase chain reaction amplification and nucleotide sequencing to examine the structure of the 3233-bp SQ-20B c-raf-1 cDNA. The 812-bp c-raf-1 promoter region was analyzed by genomic DNA amplification followed by cloning and sequencing. Sequence comparison with a previously published c-raf-1 sequence indicated no structural changes within the coding region of SQ-20B c-raf-1. However, a 4-bp deletion was observed in the 3' untranslated region within exon 17. This deletion was also present in a c-raf-1 cDNA clone isolated from a SQ-20B cDNA library. While the possibility of a 3' transcriptional control mechanism cannot be ruled out, it appears that the raf-1 protein kinase may regulate the development of radioresistant malignancies via interaction with other molecules in the damage and repair-related signal transduction pathways.