Conclusions
The results suggested that the senescence programs mediated by p15(INK4b), p16(INK4a) and p21(Waf1/Cip1) were activated during the stage of CIN and SCC, and demonstrated that senescence may play important role in preventing from NCE to SCC.
Methods
The immunohistochemical expression of p15(INK4b), p16(INK4a) and p21(Waf1/Cip1) were investigated in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded specimens from 19 NCE, 51 CIN and 21 SCC cases, respectively. Comparisons among different groups for each marker were performed with Chi-square test.
Purpose
To investigate the expression of p15(INK4b), p16(INK4a) and p21(Waf1/Cip1) in specimens from cases of normal cervical epithelium (NCE), cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), and to evaluate whether there is evidence implicating oncogene-induced senescence (OIS) in cervical squamous cell cancer development.
Results
The expression of p15(INK4b), p16(INK4a) and p21(Waf1/Cip1) were significantly higher in both CIN and SCC compared to NCE. Furthermore, the expression of p15(INK4b) and p21(Waf1/Cip1) was significantly higher in CIN П compared to CIN І, and these expressions were statistically higher in CIN Ш compared to CIN П, respectively. The p16(INK4a) expression was significantly higher in CIN Ш compared to CIN І. Conclusions: The results suggested that the senescence programs mediated by p15(INK4b), p16(INK4a) and p21(Waf1/Cip1) were activated during the stage of CIN and SCC, and demonstrated that senescence may play important role in preventing from NCE to SCC.