Assessment of p16 expression and HPV infection in adenoid cystic carcinoma of the lacrimal gland

Purpose Adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) in the lacrimal gland is a rare malignancy. P16 is encoded by the CDKN2A gene, which is recognized as a tumor suppressor due to its inactivation in many types of tumors. However, p16 overexpression is also linked to adverse tumor parameters. These contradictory observations have also been confirmed in ACCs in the salivary glands. Furthermore, evidence of human papilloma virus (HPV) infection is found in a proportion of ACCs in the salivary glands. P16 is often overexpressed in HPV-related squamous cell carcinoma in parallel. To our knowledge, the role of p16 and HPV in ACCs in the lacrimal gland is still unknown. Methods Twenty-one ACCs in the lacrimal gland and ten matched healthy lacrimal glands were studied. P16 was detected with immunohistochemistry (IHC), and HPV was detected with in situ hybridization (ISH) and PCR in all cases. Other cell cycle proteins were also detected with IHC, including cyclin D1 and Ki67. The methylation status of the p16 promoter was detected with methylation-specific PCR (MSP) to further investigate the regulation of p16 expression. Results The expression rates of p16 (47.6%, 10/21), cyclin D1 (100%, 21/21), and Ki67 (52.4%, 11/21) were increased in ACCs compared to healthy lacrimal glands (negative). The results showed p16 expression was limited to the inner ductal epithelial cells in the majority of the tubular and cribriform patterns. In solid ACCs, p16 was uniformly positive. HPV was negative in all 21 cases with ISH and PCR. P16 overexpression was associated with cyclin D1 overexpression (p=0.013). Only 13 cases were tested successfully with MSP. The expression rate of p16 methylation was 23.1% (3/13) of the ACCs. Compared with primary ACCs, recurrent ACCs showed higher p16, cyclin D1, and Ki67 expression (p=0.011, p=0.026, p=0.049, respectively). Conclusions In summary, p16 overexpression was cell-type dependent in ACCs in the lacrimal gland, while HPV infection was negative. P16 overexpression was unrelated to HPV infection. The mechanism of p16 overexpression needs to be further investigated in ACCs in the lacrimal gland.