P16(INK4A) expression might be associated with a favorable prognosis for cervical adenocarcinoma via dysregulation of the RB pathway

Previous studies have largely failed to clarify the relationship between p16(INK4A) status and cervical adenocarcinoma prognosis. The current study aimed to examine the clinical and pathological significance of p16(INK4A) expression in several cervical adenocarcinoma subtypes. Eighty-two samples collected from patients with cervical adenocarcinoma were formalin fixed and paraffin embedded. Next, p16(INK4A) levels were analyzed with immunohistochemistry. Additionally, the relationship between p16(INK4A) expression and clinicopathological factors as well as prognosis was evaluated. The expression of p16(INK4A) was mostly detected in all usual cervical adenocarcinoma subtypes. In the gastric type, only a few cases were positive for p16(INK4A) expression. Results of the Kaplan–Meier analysis indicated that the positive p16(INK4A) expression in tumor cells was significantly associated with favorable progression-free survival and overall survival in patients with cervical adenocarcinoma (p = 0.018 and p = 0.047, respectively, log-rank test). Our findings suggest that the status of p16(INK4A) expression may influence prognosis. Thus, p16(INK4A) expression could be used as a biomarker for improving the prognosis of patients with cervical adenocarcinoma.