p16 (CDKN2/cyclin-dependent kinase-4 inhibitor/multiple tumor suppressor-1) gene is not altered in uterine cervical carcinomas or cell lines.

The p16 (CDKN2/cyclin-dependent kinase-4 inhibitor/multiple tumor suppressor-1) gene is frequently altered in cell lines and some types of cancers. To assess whether alterations of this gene are important in the pathogenesis of cervical cancer, we examined 41 primary tumors and 8 cell lines, using Southern blot and polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism analyses. We did not detect any deletions or mutations, which indicates that inactivation of the p16CDKN2 gene is not critical in the tumorigenesis of cervical cancer or in establishment of cervical cancer cell lines.