Expression of p16 protein in patients with uterine smooth muscle tumors: an immunohistochemical analysis

We found that p16 was more frequently and more strongly expressed in LMS compared to STUMP and leiomyoma. We therefore concluded that p16 might play an important role in sarcomagenesis. Furthermore, p16 might be a useful immunohistochemical marker, which could help to distinguish cases of smooth muscle tumors in which histologic features are ambiguous or borderline, but the use of p16 in a diagnostic setting should await further clinical studies and clarification of the mechanisms.