Study on the prognostic value of p53 and PTEN immunomarkers for endometrial cancer using immunohistochemistry

Introduction: Mutation in p53 and phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) genes are reported to be prevalent in endometrial cancer. The present study aimed to evaluate the immunohistochemical expression of p53 and PTEN proteins in endometrial cancer among women with hysterectomy. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 40 paraffin-embedded endometrial cancer samples were collected during 2015 to 2016, from women with hysterectomy in Al Zahra Hospital, Tabriz, Iran. The histopathological observation was performed to confirm endometrial cancer and its grade. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was done for p53 and PTEN biomarkers. Data were analyzed by SPSS. Results: Thirty-three (82.5%), six (15.0%) and one (2.5%) out of 40 samples were endometrioid endometrial adenocarcinoma, serous carcinoma and clear cell adenocarcinoma, respectively. Furthermore, 5, 16 and 19 out of 40 studied samples belonged to grade I, II and III, respectively. The IHC observation showed that p53 expression in 9 (22.5%) was positive, while the rest 31 (77.5%) samples were p53 negative. Moreover, PTEN expression was observed in 10 (25%) samples and 30 (75.0%) samples were PTEN negative. The sensitivity of p53 and PTEN for diagnosis of endometrial cancer was calculated as 56.3% and 80%, respectively. Conclusion: The IHC markers, p53 and PTEN, show heterogeneous results as diagnostic and prognostic markers for endometrial carcinoma and are suggested to be used along with other markers for such purposes.