J Korean Cancer Assoc.  2001 Apr;33(2):149-157.

Effect of p53 and p16 Protein Expression in Relation to Body Mass Index for Breast Cancer Risk

• Kim MK
• Kim JY
• Gong GY
• Ahn SH

Abstract

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to investigate whether breast cancer with p53 protein overexpression (p53+) and loss of p16 protein expression (p16-) shows different body size indicator (height, weight, body mass index) associations as compared with breast tumors without p53 protein overexpression and the loss of p16 expression (p53-, p16+).
MATERIALS AND METHODS
A hospital based case-control study was conducted among 92 women patients and 122 control subjects. The p53 protein overexpression and loss of p16 protein expression in the tissue sections of patients with breast cancer were determined using immunohistochemistry.
RESULTS
A total of 26 tumors (28%) demonstrated p53 overexpression and 35 tumors (46%) showed abnormal p16 expression. The heaviest women had a higher risk with p53- and p16+ breast tumors. The odds ratios (OR) adjusted for age, menopausal status, smoking, and drinking revealed a significant gradient of increasing risk of breast cancer with increasing BMI in p53- and p16+ breast cancer. The adjusted ORs for the highest quintile of BMI was 8.51 with p53+ tumors and 14.2 with p53- tumors, and 55.6 with p16+ tumors and 3.72 with p16- tumors. p53 protein overexpression and the loss of p16 expression did not significantly correlate with nodal status, tumor size, estrogen or progesterone receptor status.
CONCLUSION
The study concluded that a strong association between p53-/p16+ tumors and BMI suggests the occurrence of p53-/p16+ tumors is related with obesity as compared to p53-/p16+ tumors.

Keyword

Breast neoplasm; p53; p16; Body mass index

MeSH Terms

Body Mass Index*
Body Size
Body Weight
Breast Neoplasms*
Breast*
Case-Control Studies
Drinking
Estrogens
Female
Humans
Immunohistochemistry
Obesity
Odds Ratio
Receptors, Progesterone
Smoke
Smoking
Estrogens
Receptors, Progesterone
Smoke