Abstract
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in Sudan. The p16 protein plays a vital role in the regulation of the cell cycle.
This study analysed the protein expression of p16 in 202 paraffin blocks from Sudanese women with breast cancer using immunohistochemistry.
This study included 168 (83.2%), 16 (7.9%), and 18 (8.9%) patients with invasive ductal carcinoma, invasive lobular carcinoma, and papillary carcinoma, respectively. There were 95 cases (47.0%) with grade III, 70 cases (34.6%) with grade II, and 23 cases (11.4%) with grade I breast cancer. The hormone receptor status was available for 119 of the cases, and 31 (15.3%), 25 (12.4%), and 63 (31.2%) cases were positive for oestrogen, progesterone, and HER2 receptors, respectively.
p16 protein expression was associated with high histologic grade, lymph node metastasis, and poor prognosis. p16 protein expression may potentially be used as a prognostic marker.