p16INK4a overexpression independent of human papillomavirus infection in lobular endocervical glandular hyperplasia

A high rate of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection has been reported in cervical cancer and precancerous lesions. Many studies also have shown that p16(INK4a) overexpression is of diagnostic value for high-risk HPV-related cervical cancer and precursors. Lobular endocervical glandular hyperplasia (LEGH) is a rare lesion of the uterine cervix. There is one report about HPV infection and few studies on p16(INK4a) expression in LEGH. Therefore, we 1) detected HPV infection and examined p16(INK4a) expression and 2) observed the relationship between HPV and p16(INK4a) overexpression in LEGH. The immunohistochemical expression of p16(INK4a) was studied in 24 cases of LEGH. HPV DNA was also evaluated in these cases using a polymerase chain reaction technique. Strong (++) p16(INK4a) immunoreactivity was observed in 10 (41.7%) of the 24 LEGH cases; a moderate (+) pattern was observed in 9 (37.5%) cases; a weak (+) pattern was observed in 2 (8.3%) cases; and the remaining 3 (12.5%) cases showed negative expression. Overall, p16(INK4a) overexpression was seen in 87.5% of the cases (21/24). HPV DNA was not detected in any of the 24 LEGH cases. These results suggest that p16(INK4a) overexpression is independent of HPV infection in LEGH.