Immunohistochemical expression of p16ink4a in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix- a one year prospective and retrospective study in a tertiary care hospital

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Worldwide, carcinoma of uterine cervix is the fourth common cancer in women and becomes the prevalent cause of mortality in women. The P16ink4a is a tumour suppressor protein located on chromosome 9p21. It acts by preventing the progression of cell cycle from G1 to S phase. Its overexpression is demonstrated by immunohistochemical staining and it is known to have an effect on treatment response and survival of patients. It is not known to show positivity in normal cervical epithelium. This research was undertaken to study the expression of P16ink4a in cervical squamous cell carcinoma cases. Its role as a possible marker by correlating its positive expression with clinicopathological parameters was also studied.