Absence of p53 protein overexpression in precancerous lesions of the vulva
Abstract
Recently the authors reported the prognostic value of p53 protein overexpression in invasive squamous cell carcinoma of the vulva. The aim of this study was to evaluate the status of p53 overexpression and human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in patients with precancerous lesions of the vulva. Biopsy specimens of 28 women (mean age, 44.2 years; range, 19-71 years) with warty and/or basaloid type vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia (VIN) of Grade 1 to 3 were examined retrospectively for p53 protein overexpression by immunohistochemistry. The presence of the HPV genome was assessed using a nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method with consensus primers directed against the L1 coding region. Neither the preoperative punch biopsy specimen nor the subsequent surgical specimen contained immunohistochemically detectable levels of p53 in this study of a group of younger women with preinvasive vulvar lesions. These results are in contrast to those obtained previously in older women with keratinizing squamous cell carcinoma demonstrating p53 protein overexpression in approximately 50% of patients. HPV DNA was detected in the vast majority of VIN cases (92.8%) using a highly sensitive nested PCR method. The current data indicate that p5...Continue Reading
References
Citations
Related Concepts
Related Feeds
Carcinoma, Squamous Cell
Basal cell carcinoma is a form of malignant skin cancer found on the head and neck regions and has low rates of metastasis. Discover the latest research on basal cell carcinoma here.