Our results showed that expression of PR, HER2, Ki-67, and p16 varied significantly within DCIS lesions from a single patient (P<0.05 for PR; P<1×10(-8) for HER2, Ki-67 and p16).
The tissue microenvironment is particularly relevant to the behavior of DCIS, and, surprisingly, elevated expression of p16ink4a in nonproliferative stroma was observed in a substantial fraction of cases.
CDKN2A and GSTP1 showed significantly (p < 0.002) higher mean methylation levels in increasing grades (I, II, III) of DCIS (1% versus 4% versus 7% for CDKN2A and 6% versus 26% versus 28% for GSTP1).
In the differential diagnosis of intraductal proliferative lesions, quantitative DNA methylation analysis of p16(INK4a) by MethyLight may be used as a surrogate, especially to distinguish atypical ductal hyperplasia from usual ductal hyperplasia and low-grade ductal carcinoma in situ.