Correlation between RB/p16 pathway expression and clinicopathological features in phyllodes tumors of breast
ZHOU Ning
HUANG Rongfei
YANG Li
WANG Xiaoyu
GU Jun
FU Yangyan
Abstract：Objective Phyllodes tumors of the breast(PTB)are rare fibroepithelial tumors of the breast,and their histopathological subtyping and diagnosis remain challenging.This study aimed to evaluate the abnormal expression of proteins in the retinoblastoma protein(Rb)/cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2A(p16)signaling pathway and to explore their diagnostic and prognostic value in the classification of phyllodes tumors of the breast.Methods Ninety patients with phyllodes tumors of the breast who underwent surgical treatment from January 2016 to June 2024 were enrolled in this study,including benign,borderline,and malignant cases.The clinical information and histopathological characteristics of the patients were collected.HE staining was used to evaluate the histological structure of the tumors,and immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression levels of p16 and Rb proteins.SPSS 26.0 software was used to analyze the relationship between abnormal expression of Rb/p16 signaling pathway(such as p16+/Rb-or p16-/Rb+)and tumor size,differentiation degree,proliferative activity,and follow-up recurrence rate.Results Malignant phyllodes tumors exhibited high stromal cell density and obvious atypia,mostly showing an Rb-/p16+phenotype;benign cases mostly showed an Rb+/p16-phenotype.Immunohistochemistry showed that the positive rate of Rb decreased with increasing malignancy[benign phyllodes tumor(BP)100.0%vs.borderline phyllodes tumor(BLP)/malignant phyllodes tumor(MP)78.8%-40.6%],while the positive rate of p16 increased with increasing malignancy(BP 1.2%vs BLP/MP 21.2%-59.4%)(P<0.05).The mitotic count was associated with the Rb/p16 phenotype(P<0.05),while no significant association was observed with other clinical characteristics.Follow-up analysis showed that the prognosis of the Rb-/p16+group was worse(P<0.05).Conclusion The Rb/p16 signaling pathway plays an important role in the malignant progression of phyllodes tumors of the breast.Its abnormal immunohistochemical expression can provide a theoretical reference for the accurate classification and prognosis evaluation of phyllodes tumors of the breast.
Keywords：Phyllodes tumors of the breastRb/p16 signaling pathwayImmunohistochemistryProtein expressionClassification and diagnosis
Publication Date：2025-10-28
Online Publishing Date：2025-11-06(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：6( 1284-1289 )