Dr. Gibbs on Testing for p16 and p21 in Osteosarcoma

C. Parker Gibbs Jr, MD, Eugene L. Jewett professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, chief medical officer, University of Florida Health Shands Hospital, division chief of Musculoskeletal Oncology, University of Florida College of Medicine, discusses how to test for p16 and p21 in patients with osteosarcoma.

The cell cycle checkpoint regulator proteins p16 and p21 have shown promise as predictive biomarkers with the ability to give insight into a patient’s potential response to treatment for osteosarcoma, explains Gibbs. To test for p16 and p21, a surgical or needle biopsy is performed when a patient presents with osteosarcoma to learn about the diagnosis and the best way to treat.

After the tissue is obtained, it is stained via immunohistochemistry for p16 or p21. From there, the amount of expression the proteins emit can determine the relative risk of metastatic disease or death, concludes Gibbs.