Loss of p16 INK4 expression in invasive squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix is an adverse prognostic marker.

摘要

The cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p16 is known to be overexpressed in cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and many invasive cervical carcinomas. In normal cells p16 acts as an inhibitor of cellular proliferation and is often inactivated in non-cervical tumours.4 We evaluated whether p16 expression is of prognostic significance in invasive cervical carcinoma.The study population comprised 130 patients with invasive squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix whose radical hysterectomy specimens were seen at the Institute of Pathology, University Hospital of Leipzig, between 1992 and 1996. Tumour slides were re-examined and a representative area marked on the slide. Two tissue microarrays (TMA) were constructed to sample two cores per tissue block. Slides from the TMA were cut at 4mum and stained for p16 (clone 16PO4; Neomarkers Laboratories, Fremont, CA, USA; 1 : 1000 dilution, heat antigen retrieval). Any degree of immunoreactivity was considered to be pl6+ (Figure 1).