p16 protein is upregulated in a stepwise fashion in colorectal adenoma and colorectal carcinoma.

Background/aims: p16 is tumor suppressor gene acting as a cell cycle regulator. The present study was conducted to compare p16 expression in normal, dysplastic, and malignant colonic mucosae, and to explore its relation to clinicopathological variables and follow-up data in colorectal carcinoma (CRC).

Patients And Methods: Tissue microarrays were performed from 25 normal colonic mucosae, 41 colonic adenomas, and 191 CRC, with corresponding 50 nodal metastases.