Abstract
Hypermethylation of the promoter region of the
p16INK4a
(
p16
) gene plays a significant role in the development and progression of colorectal cancer (CRC). The aim of the present study was to establish the role of the methylation status of the
p16
gene in 114 CRC cases and to correlate it with the various clinicopathological parameters. Analysis of
p16
promoter methylation was performed by methylation-specific PCR. Forty-eight (42.1%) of the CRC cases were found to be methylated for the
p16
gene in our population. The methylation status was found to be associated with the gender, lymph node status, tumour stage, smoking status and tumour grade of the CRC patients.
p16
plays a pivotal role in tumour development and progression to advanced stages.