Clinicopathology Significance of p53 and p63 Expression in Indonesian Cervical Squamous Cell Carcinomas

Background: Human papilloma virus infection is associated with genesis and malignant potential ofcervical cancer. E6 and E7 oncogens are known to bind to p53 and retinoblastoma gene products, abrogatingtheir functions as tumor suppressors, leading to an abnormal cell cycle machinery. Roles of the p53 homologp63 have also been postulated, E6 expression leading to TAp63b degradation allowing anchorage independentgrowth. Molecular studies correlated with clinicopathological factors are important to determine prognosis andtreatment strategies, but results have been controversial and need to be clarified. Aim: To investigate expressionof p53 and p63 in cervical squamous cell carcinomas in correlation with age, FIGO staging, morphology, andcancer cell proliferation. Materials and
Methods: Expression of p53 and p63 immunohistochemical staining in atotal of 56 paraffin-embedded tissues of cervical squamous cell carcinomas from Dr. Sardjito General HospitalIndonesia, was evaluated for correlation with clinicopathological parameters. The Mann-Whitney test was usedto compare the percentage of p53 and p63 expression with patient age, FIGO staging and morphology and tocompare mean p53 and p63 expression. The Spearman correlation test was applied to correlate p53 and p63expression with that of Ki-67. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results: There weresignificant associations between p53 expression with age (p=0.019) and FIGO staging (p=0.026), but not withwith morphology or Ki-67 expression. There were no links between p63 expression and age, morphology, FIGOstaging or Ki-67.
Conclusions: This study indicated that p53 has a prognostic value in cervical squamous cellcarcinomas given the relation with FIGO staging.