Vol. 5, Issue 1, Part A (2022)

Background: p16 is a cyclin dependent kinase inhibitor (CKI), a tumour suppressor gene, and is the second commonly affected gene next to p53 in HNSCCs. The main function of p16 is to control the phosphorylation of retinoblastoma (Rb) gene and block the progression of cell cycle. The immuno histochemical (IHC) expression of p16 is convenient as it is employed to tissue blocks and is less tedious than the other methods. Hence detection of p16 and its correlation with the head and neck SCCs is mandatory for patient management and outcome. The present study aimed to study the expression of P16 in squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck.

Materials and Method: The present study was a Comparative and longitudnal study of All new diagnosed cases of primary head and neck squamous cell carcinoma of either sex was conducted in the Department of Pathology, Government Medical College, Amritsar. As p16 staining is both nuclear and cytoplasmic, its expression was evaluated in the stained sections for all patients.

Results: HNSCC was more common in males with male to female ratio of approximately 6: 1. Oral cavity accounted for the most common site of occurrence of HNSCC (60%). Cases of nasal cavity and eye were the most common site for p16 positivity in HNSCC cases (100%). Among the oral cavity SCC cases, buccal mucosa was the most common site involved (37.6%). Among the p16 positive cases most cases are HNSCC Grade 1 (50%). Of the HNSCC cases, most cases (44%) showed intermediate staining of p16 over expression. It was observed that p16 over expression was most common in HNSCC moderately differentiated cases (66.70%).

Conclusion: Further, DNA detection based studies are needed to validate the utility of IHC detection of p16 as a surrogate marker for HPV associated HNSCC.