Genetic Polymorphisms of Essential Immune Pathogenic Response Genes and Risk of Cervical Cancer

Abstract

The incidence of cervical cancer (CC) shows a geographical variation with the economic status of the country, the countries having lower resources (i.e., those with HDI <0.80) have higher incidence of CC than the highest-resource countries. The incidence and mortality rates of cervical cancer are two to four times higher in developing and poorer nations of the world with limited resources in comparison with the developed nations with high average income and resources. The various factors, which have been associated with an increased risk of cervical cancer include low socio-economic status, smoking, infection by human papilloma virus (HPV), and chlamydia, first coitus at young age, marriage at or before the age of 18 years, chronic use of oral contraceptives, sex with multiple partners, or spouse having sex with multiple partners, and multiparity. But HPV infection is regarded as the pivotal risk factor for the initiation and progression of CC. However, the transition of CC from the foundation of HPV infection to preinvasive lesions and finally to an invasive cancer takes decades. The contribution of genetic variation, in particular gene polymorphism, towards modifying the cervical cancer risk, is of utmost importance in understanding the interaction between the HPV infection and polymorphic status of various genes. In this chapter we would be discussing the effects of polymorphisms in specific genes involved in various critical pathways like immune response, apoptosis control, antigen processing, DNA repair, and xenobiotic metabolism in modulating the CC risk.