Data from domestic and foreign literature indicate a close pathogenetic relationship between the expression of cancer markers p16 and p53, tumor suppressor proteins, and the invasion of human papillomavirus (HPV) in patients with precancerous lesions of the oral mucosa. Thus, it seems advisable to evaluate the frequency of detection of the expression of cancer markers p16 and p53 by immunohistochemical examination in patients with HPV-positive and HPV-negative dysplastic lesions of the oral mucosa.
The aim is to increase the effectiveness of the diagnosis of lesions of the oral mucosa associated with epithelial dysplasia.
Materials and methods. The study involved 50 patients with established diagnoses of leukoplakia and lichen planus with signs of epithelial dysplasia. After surgery, all patients underwent an immunohistochemical study of the expression of proteins p16 and p53 and a PCR study for papillomavirus. The ratio of the frequency of detection of cancer marker expression in subgroups depending on the HPV status was evaluated.
Results. There were no statistically significant differences in the frequency of detection of p53 (p = 0.161) and p16 (p = 0.21) cancer marker expressions depending on the HPV status of patients. There were also statistically insignificant differences in the frequency of detection of the expression of cancer markers p16 (p = 0.333) and p53 (p = 0.178) depending on gender. The HPV-positive status of patients with epithelial dysplasia of the oral mucosa was statistically significantly more often associated with the female sex (p = 0.008).
Conclusion. The assessment of the expression of proteins p16 and p53 is not a reliable method for diagnosing oral epithelial dysplasia and associated papillomavirus infection. There is a need to search for alternative and more accurate molecular markers of the disease, as well as a greater number of observations.