Cell cycle related protein in non-small cell lung cancer

Objective: To investigate the cell cycle related proteins p53 and p16 in non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC) and evaluate their correlation with clinicopathological factors.Methods: Total of 80 cases of NSCLC specimens were studied for expression of p53 and p16 by immunohistochemical technique SP method.Results: Forty-four(55%) and thirty-three(41.25%) of 80 patients revealed aberrant immunostaining p53 and p16 respectively.While 66 cases showed that at least one gene with abnormal protein expression.There was no correlation of p53 or p16 expression with the clinicopathologic features except the loss of p16 expression was significantly greater in squamous cell carcinoma than in adenocarcinoma cases.Conclusion: The results suggest that abnormal expression of cell cycle related proteins p53 and p16 is common in lung cancer and the disruption of p53/p21and pRb/p16 pathways plays an significant role in NSCLC tumorigenesis..Further studies are needed to confirm the role of p53 and p16 in the biologic behavior of the tumor.