Expression of p16 protein in breast cancer.

Abstract

Breast cancer is themost common cancer and aleading cause ofdeath in women in Saudi Arabia. P16 is atumour suppressor gene that plays acrucial role in regulating cell cycle. Several studies have investigated thesignificance ofp16 expression in various cancer types. However, thesignificance ofp16 in breast cancer remains controversial and insufficiently studied. Thepresent study aims to examine theassociation between p16 expression and clinicopathological factors in breast cancer using immunohistochemistry staining. Thestudy utilised 475 prospectively collected tissue samples from 475 women with breast cancer in Saudi Arabia. Nuclear and cytoplasmic immunohistochemical staining ofp16 was observed in 338 (71%) ofthecases and showed significant direct associations with adverse tumour features, including high tumour grade (p < 0.0001), negative oestrogen receptor/progesterone receptor status (p < 0.001), and lymph node metastasis (p = 0.02). Our study revealed asignificant association between p16 protein expression and theestablished negative prognostic parameters in breast carcinoma including tumour grade, lymph node metastasis, and oestrogen receptor and progesterone receptor status.