Abstract :
Cervical cancer is the second leading cause of female cancer in India. Human papilloma virus (HPV)
infection is the most important risk factor for uterine cervical neoplasms. HPV oncogene expression
can be detected by cellular protein p16 (INK4a) using immunohistochemistry. The present study aims
to assess the immunoexpression of protein p16INK4a in cervical dysplastic and neoplastic lesions. The
study includes 86 cases of premalignant and malignant cervical lesions diagnosed on histopathology for
two years. All cases were subjected to p16 INK4a immunohistochemical staining.72% of cases (62 out of
86) (including premalignant and malignant) were positive for p16. P16 was positive in 88% of invasive
carcinoma, 70.83% of HSIL and 40% of LSIL. Cervical cancer is associated with HPV infection which
can be identified by overexpression of p16 INK4a in premalignant and malignant lesions. The expression
of p16 INK4a positivity increases with increasing grades of dysplasia and thus helps in the stratification of
cervical dysplastic and neoplastic lesions. P16 INK4a can be used as a surrogate marker of HPV infection.
Keyword :
Cervical cancer, Dysplasia, Human papilloma virus, Premalignant lesions, p16INK4a.