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Vulvar squamous cell carcinoma (vSCC) is the most frequent cancer of the vulva. Once considered a single disease, vSCC is now known to have two separate pathogenic pathways (human papillomavirus [HPV] dependent and HPV independent). Differentiated vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia (dVIN) is a precursor lesion in the HPV-independent pathway. Unusual p53 staining is common in this lesion; in 25% to 30% of cases, staining shows complete p53 absence. These authors explore p53 staining as a diagnostic tool and marker of dVIN.
They examined 14 samples with a p53-null immunostaining pattern in lesional cells from 10 patients with a dVIN diagnosis and confirmed absence of HPV infection. Associated invasive carcinoma was present in 10 samples. Histolo…