p16 upregulation is linked to poor prognosis in ERG negative prostate cancer

Altered expression of the p16 tumor suppressor is frequently found in prostate cancer, but its role for tumor development and patient prognosis is disputed. In order to clarify the prognostic role of p16 and to draw conclusions on interactions with key molecular features of prostate cancer, we studied p16 expression in a tissue microarray (TMA) with more than 12,400 prostate cancers and attached clinical, pathological, and molecular data such as ERG status and deletions of 3p13, 5q21, 6q15, and PTEN. p16 immunostaining was absent in non-neoplastic prostate cells but was found in 37 % of 9627 interpretable prostate cancers. Finding p16 expression in 58 % of ERG positive but in only 22 % of ERG negative cancers (p