Mitosis targets as biomarkers in cervical cancer

Abstract

The effectiveness of a preventive human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination for reducing the cervical cancer (CC) burden will likely not be known for 30 years. Current screening methods for detecting high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasias (CIN2/3) and CC (CIN2+) have low sensitivity (Pap test) or low specificity (HPV tests). Improved procedures for CC screening and treatment are therefore required. Based on comparisons with healthy cervical epithelium, the genes most upregulated and enriched in CC are those involved in mitosis. Some of these upregulated genes might be good candidates for CC screening or survival markers or as potential therapeutic targets. In this chapter, we analyze the benefits and limitations of current methods used for early CC detection, the evidence that demonstrates that the most enriched genes in CC are those involved in mitosis, the mechanism that regulates mitosis and its relationship with HPV, and our experimental evidence suggesting that some mitosis genes might be good markers for screening and survival in CC. In addition, we discuss the need to develop less expensive and more efficient methods that can be automated for large-scale application in poor and developing countries. We also discuss the potential use of the markers for other types of cancers and as potential therapeutic targets.