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J Clin Pathol 65:117-121 doi:10.1136/jclinpath-2011-200362
  • Original article

P16INK4A overexpression predicts lymph node metastasis in cervical carcinomas

  1. Chin-Cheng Lee4,5,6
  1. 1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
  2. 2Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Fu Jen Catholic University, Hsinchuang, Taipei Hsien, Taiwan
  3. 3Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
  4. 4Department of Pathology, Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
  5. 5Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
  6. 6Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yuanpei University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
  1. Correspondence to Professor Chin-Cheng Lee, Department of Pathology, Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital, No. 95, Wen Chang Road, Shih Lin District, Taipei City 111, Taiwan; m002058{at}ms.skh.org.tw

  1. Contributors All authors have directly participated in the planning, execution and analysis of the study and have approved the final version submitted.

  • Accepted 30 August 2011
  • Published Online First 19 October 2011

Abstract

Background The p16INK4A protein (p16) is a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor that arrests the cell cycle in the G1 phase.

Aim To explore the potential of p16 as a predictive marker for lymph node (LN) metastasis and prognosis in cervical carcinomas.

Methods 145 patients diagnosed with FIGO stage I to IV cervical carcinoma were studied; 95 underwent LN dissection. The expression of p16 protein was studied by immunohistochemistry using tissue microarrays.

Results Overexpression of p16 was seen in 108 of 145 (74.5%) invasive carcinomas. There was a significant correlation between p16 expression and LN metastasis (p=0.007). Patients with p16 overexpression had poorer survival than patients with p16 underexpression (59.3% vs 83.8% 5-year survival rate, log-rank p=0.015). In univariate analysis, p16 expression was a significant predictor of survival (RR 2.76, p=0.02).

Conclusions Results suggest that p16 expression is an important predictive factor of LN metastasis in cervical cancer patients. Moreover, p16 overexpression is associated with a poor prognosis. Therefore, immunohistochemical evaluation of p16 expression is of potential value for treatment planning in cervical carcinomas.

Footnotes

  • Funding This study was supported by research grants (SKH-8302-98-DR-23, SKH-8302-99-DR-29) from the Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.

  • Competing interests None.

  • Patient consent Obtained.

  • Ethics approval Ethics approval was provided by the Institutional Review Board of Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital.

  • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.