Familial cancer history in patients with carcinoma of the cervix uteri

Genomic Risk Factors for Cervical Cancer

Cervical cancer is the fourth common cancer amongst women worldwide. Infection by high-risk human papilloma virus is necessary in most cases, but not sufficient to develop invasive cervical cancer. Despite a predicted genetic heritability in the range of other gynaecological cancers, only few genomic susceptibility loci have been identified thus far. Various case-control association studies have found corroborative evidence for several independent risk variants at the 6p21.3 locus (HLA), while many reports of associations with variants outside the HLA region remain to be validated in other cohorts. Here, we review cervical cancer susceptibility variants arising from recent genome-wide association studies and meta-analysis in large cohorts and propose 2q14 (PAX8), 17q12 (GSDMB), and 5p15.33 (CLPTM1L) as consistently replicated non-HLA cervical cancer susceptibility loci. We further discuss the available evidence for these loci, knowledge gaps, future perspectives, and the potential impact of these findings on precision medicine strategies to combat cervical cancer.

Role of ganglioside biosynthesis genetic polymorphism in cervical cancer development

Cervical cancer is the most common gynaecological cancer in women. Cell mediated immunity plays a significant role in the progression or regression of neoplastic cervical lesions caused by human papilloma virus infection. Engagement of antigen-specific T cell receptors is a prerequisite for T cell activation. The initial events of T cell activation involve the movement of the T cell receptor into specialised microdomains known as lipid rafts. Gangliosides play an active role in the formation, stabilisation and biological functions of lipid rafts. This study aims to determine whether polymorphisms in the genes involved in the biosynthesis of gangliosides represent risk a factor for cervical cancer.Taqman methods for single nucleotide polymorphism genotyping was used. All subjects carried the homozygous wild-type genotypes for all analysed genes (CC for gene B4GALT5, AA for gene ST3GAL5, AA for gene ST8SIA1 and CC for gene B4GALNT1). A χ2 test showed significant differences in genotype failure for B4GALT5 rs138960078 (χ2 = 32.02, df = 1, p = .001) and genotype failure for B4GALNT1 rs144643461 (χ2 = 41.03, df = 1, p = .001) between cervical cancer group and control group. Genotype failures were significantly more frequent in the cervical cancer group. Unknown adjacent SNPs to rs138960078 in gene B4GALT5 and rs144643461 in gene B4GALNT1 could be associated with cervical cancer development.IMPACT STATEMENTWhat is already known on this subject? Individual genetic factors play an important role in the pathogenesis of disease. In recent years, the different SNPs and their potential effects on CC risk have been extensively studied. A large number of single nucleotide genetic variants associated with cervical cancer have been identified.What do the results of this study add? Our results suggest the presence of unknown adjacent SNPs to rs138960078 in gene B4GALT5 and rs144643461 in gene B4GALNT1 that could be associated with cervical cancer development.What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? Better understanding of causal-consequence relationship between ganglioside biosynthesis and TCR mediated activation with consequently cervical cancer development is needed. Our research opens a new possibilities for identification of polymorphisms in the genes involved in the biosynthesis of gangliosides which can be a risk factor for cervical cancer development.

Nucleotide variation in ATG4A and susceptibility to cervical cancer in Southwestern Chinese women

Early detection of human papillomavirus (HPV) is important for the clinical diagnosis of cervical cancer. However, to date, the pathogenesis of cervical cancer is still unclear. Autophagy is a dynamic process that contributes to the maintenance of cellular homeostasis. Here, we investigate whether variants of autophagy genes affect the occurrence of cervical cancer. In this study, our results indicate that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of autophagy-related protein 4 (ATG4), including rs4036579, rs5973822, rs807181, rs807182 and rs807183, have a significant relationship with cervical cancer risk. Furthermore, stratified analysis suggests that the homozygous variant genotype could decrease the risk of cervical cancer and should be considered when investigating the role of HPV in cervical cancer. We aim to investigate whether SNPs of ATG4A contribute to HPV infection in the population of Southwestern China. The association of both single SNPs and SNP-SNP interactions with HPV was evaluated in a sample of cancer cases and healthy control subjects. The interaction of rs807181 and rs807183 was associated with HPV infection in case and control subjects (combined P=2.00×10⁻³ and 3.22×10⁻², respectively). This result showed that ATG4A SNP interactions may affect HPV infection in the population of Southwestern China. Notably, the autophagy gene ATG4A may contribute to cervical cancer.

Knockdown of Legumain Suppresses Cervical Cancer Cell Migration and Invasion

Cervical cancer is the second leading type of cancer in women living in less developed countries. The pathological and molecular mechanisms of cervical cancer are not comprehensively known. Though legumain has been found to be highly expressed in various types of solid tumors, its expression and biological function in cervical cancer remain unknown. In this study, we aimed to investigate legumain expression and functions in cervical cancer. We found that legumain was highly expressed in cervical cancer cells. When knocked down, legumain expression in HeLa and SiHa cells significantly reduced its migration and invasion abilities compared with control cells. Furthermore, legumain silencing suppressed the activation of matrix metalloproteases (MMP2 and MMP3) in cervical cancer cells. This study indicates that legumain might play an important role in cervical cancer cell migration and invasion. Legumain might be a potential therapeutic target for cervical cancer therapy.

Acceptance for preventive genetic testing and prophylactic surgery in women with a family history of breast and gynaecological cancers

The fear of family members of patients with breast or gynaecologic cancer of developing a similar disease is often high. We investigated the acceptance for genetic testing of untested women with a positive family history and their attitude for prophylactic surgery. A total of 659 women with a familial history of breast or gynaecologic cancer were asked to answer a questionnaire regarding their interest in genetic testing for breast cancer as well as for gynaecologic carcinoma and their interest in prophylactic surgery. Genetic testing is seen to be accepted by the majority of participants: 85.0 and 77.8% chose a genetic test for breast and gynaecologic cancer, respectively. Prophylactic surgery was much less chosen; prophylactic mastectomy as well as prophylactic hysterectomy or bilateral prophylactic oophorectomy was an option only for a minority of women. Genetic testing for risk assessment of healthy women with a positive family history was observed to be accepted by a majority of participants. Prophylactic surgery was an option only for a minority and was not acceptable for most of the women.