Evaluation of p16 expression in carcinomas of the uterine cervix diagnosed only on cervical biopsies

The use of differing diagnostic terms by pathologists in their histopathological reports relating to tumours of the uterine cervix can affect the clinical decision-making of treating physicians or surgeons. A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted with the aim of evaluating p16 expression in all cervical carcinomas diagnosed solely through cervical biopsies, following a review of their previous diagnoses. Any association between p16 expression and the age of the patient or previous diagnosis was also examined. The mean, median and mode ages in the study were 53±12.4, 60, and 65 years, respectively. In 70 out of 393 cervical biopsies (17.8%) were diagnosed cervical carcinomas. A significant inconsistency in the use of diagnostic terminology by pathologists was observed. Of the 53 cases submitted for p16 immunostaining, 50 cases (94.3%) were p16 positive, and 3 (5.7%) were negative. Moreover, 88.7% of cases were reclassified as squamous cell carcinoma, human papillomavirus-associated, 5.7% as squamous cell carcinoma, human papillomavirus-independent, and 5.7% as Adenocarcinoma, human papillomavirus-associated of the uterine cervix. A mean age at diagnosis of 65 years was not significantly associated; however, the previous categories of large cell non-keratinising and keratinising squamous cell carcinoma showed the highest p16 positivity (p < 0.001). The inclusion of p16 status in pathological reports would not only promote uniformity in histopathological reporting but also assist physicians and surgeons in determining the appropriate treatment approach, predictive value, and prognosis