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Objective To evaluate the expressions of biomarkers p16 and K i -67 in low-grade (LG) or high-grade (HG) lesions, and to relate them to risk factors and the recurrence of these lesions. Methods A retrospective case-control study of 86 patients with LG and HG lesions who underwent a loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP) between 1999 and 2004. The control group was composed of 69 women with no recurrence, and the study group, of 17 patients with recurrence. All patients were followed-up over a two-year period after surgery, and screened every six months, including cytology and colposcopy. Biopsy samples collected from LEEP were submitted to immunohistochemical analysis for p16 and K i -67. The statistical analysis was performed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software (SPSS, IBM-SPSS, Inc., Chicago, IL, US), with a significant p < 0.05. Results The biomarkers p16 and K i -67, separately or combined, showed no relation to recurrence on the total analysis. However, evaluating specifically HG lesions, the positive expression (2þ and 3 þ ) of p16/K i -67 was associated with recurrence (0.010). In addition, p16 isolated was also more expressive in HG lesions (2þ and 3 þ , p ¼ 0.018), but it was unrelated to recurrence. Conclusion Proteins p16 and K i -67, both isolated and combined, are not reliable primary markers for the recurrence of cervical lesions in the majority of LG lesions. However, analyzing only the group with prior diagnosis of HG lesions, the expressions of p16 and of p16/K i -67 were associated with recurrence, and they may be useful in monitoring these cases. IntroductionThe search for markers to facilitate the diagnosis of diseases is a constant in scientific research to save resources, time and to prevent unnecessary treatments. Cervical cancer is the most common cancer among women in 45 countries of the world and, worldwide, 266 thousand women die of it each year; 1 it is preceded by cervical lesions that may or may not progress to invasion. They are associated with infection and with the persistence of the human papillomavirus (HPV) to progress to invasive carcinoma. 2 Through this process, the cells infected with high-risk oncogenic HPV alter the cell cycle, modifying the production of proteins p16 and K i -67. The most common treatment for high grade (HG) lesions is cervical cone resection using the loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP). A major concern of the treatment is the recurrence of the lesion, as it may reappear without symptoms and more severely. Proteins p16 and K i -67 are, respectively, cell progression and proliferation markers. Protein p16 is a tumor suppressor from the Ink4a family that induces the hyperphosphorylation of the retinoblastoma protein (pRb), and has low expression in normal tissues.3 K i -67 is a nuclear protein present in cells during the active proliferation stage, but it is not expressed when cells are in the quiescent state. 3 The expression of both molecules simultaneously already denotes some problem in the cell c...

Background: Hyperplasia of usual type (HUT) is a common proliferative lesion associated with a slight elevated risk for subsequent development of breast cancer. Cell cycle-related proteins would be helpful to determine the putative role of these markers in the process of mammary carcinogenesis. The aim of this study was to analyze the expression of cell cycle related proteins in HUT of breast specimens of patients with and without breast cancer, and compare this expression with areas of invasive carcinomas.