Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• von Knebel Doeberitz, Magnus
• Reuschenbach, Miriam
• Schmidt, Dietmar
• Bergeron, Christine

Titel

Biomarkers for cervical cancer screening: the role of p16(INK4a) to highlight transforming HPV infections

Ist Teil von

• Expert review of proteomics, 2012-04, Vol.9 (2), p.149-163

Ort / Verlag

England

Erscheinungsjahr

2012

Quelle

MEDLINE

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Biomarkers indicating the initiation of neoplastic transformation processes in human papillomavirus (HPV)-infected epithelial cells are moving into the focus of cancer prevention research, particularly for anogenital cancer, including cancer of the uterine cervix. Based on the in-depth understanding of the molecular events leading to neoplastic transformation of HPV-infected human cells, the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p16(INK4a) turned out to be substantially overexpressed in virtually all HPV-transformed cells. This finding opened novel avenues in diagnostic histopathology to substantially improve the diagnostic accuracy of cervical cancer and its precursor lesions. Furthermore, it provides a novel technical platform to substantially improve the accuracy of cytology-based cancer early-detection programs. Here, we review the molecular background and the current evidence for the clinical utility of the p16(INK4a) biomarker for HPV-related cancers, and cervical cancer prevention in particular.