Molecular markers of the progression of conjunctival neoplastic epithelial lesions and its correlation with P16 and HPV expression

Abstract

Epithelial lesions of the conjunctiva include both benign and transitional malignant and malignant lesions., Therefore, it is important to identify molecular markers of malignant progression of these lesions.The aim of our study was to study molecular markers determining the risk of progression of epithelial neoplastic processes of the conjunctiva. The following markers were detected by standard immunohistochemical methods: Ki67, PHH3, Bcl2, P16, HPV16/18, P53, P63 and CK7.A squamous-epithelial index was also derived by evaluating standard hematoxylin-eosin (H&E)-stained fluorescence and the P63/CK7 ratio.The results of the study showed that during the progression of intraepithelial neoplasia of the conjunctiva, the content of squamous epithelium and, accordingly, the squamous-gland index increases significantly.In addition, according to proliferative and apoptotic characteristics, conjunctival intraepithelial lesions can be divided into two groups, namely, low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia and high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia.