Expression and clinical significance of p21~(WAF1) and CDK4 in breast cancer tissue

Objective To explore the expression and clinical significance of p21~(WAF1) and CDk4 in breast cancer tissue.Methods The expression of p21~(WAF1) and CDK4 of normal breast tissue,pericancerous tissue and breast cancer tissue was examined by immunohistochemistry.Results The(expressions) of p21~(WAF1) in breast cancer tissue,peri-cancerous tissue and normal breast tissue were 41.1%,3.3% and 12.5%,respectively,which were significantly different between the breast cancer tissue and normal breast tissue(P0.05).p21~(WAF1) expression was negaticely correlated with lymph node metastasis(P0.01),but was not with clinicopathologyic characteristics such as histological grade,PR and ER status.The expressions of CDK4 in breast carcinoma,peri-cancerous tissue and normal breast tissue were 51.1%,15.5% and 0%, respectively(P0.05),which was positively correlated with tumor histologic grade and lymph node metastasis status(P0.01),but was not with PR and ER status.Conclusion The gene products of p21~(WAF1) and CDK4 play a key role in the oncogenesis and development of breast cancer and their expression could be useful indexes to assess the malignant level of breast carcinoma and its clinical prognosis.