The precision prevention and therapy of HPV‐related cervical cancer: new concepts and clinical implications

• Published in: Cancer medicine (Malden, MA) Vol. 7; no. 10; pp. 5217 - 5236
• Main Authors: Hu, Zheng, Ma, Ding
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.10.2018; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: Cancer Prevention; Carcinogenesis; Cervical cancer; Cervical carcinogenesis; cervical screening; Cervix; Early Detection of Cancer; Female; genome editing tools; HPV integration; Human papillomavirus; Humans; Immune system; Mass Screening; NGS‐based HPV testing; Papillomaviridae - isolation & purification; Papillomavirus Infections - diagnosis; Papillomavirus Infections - prevention & control; Papillomavirus Infections - therapy; Precision Medicine; Review; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms - diagnosis; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms - prevention & control; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms - therapy; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms - virology; China; India; HPV integration; cervical screening; genome editing tools; Cervical carcinogenesis; NGS‐based HPV testing
• ISSN: 2045-7634; 2045-7634
• DOI: 10.1002/cam4.1501

Cervical cancer is the third most common cancer in women worldwide, with concepts and knowledge about its prevention and treatment evolving rapidly. Human papillomavirus (HPV) has been identified as a major factor that leads to cervical cancer, although HPV infection alone cannot cause the disease. In fact, HPV‐driven cancer is a small probability event because most infections are transient and could be cleared spontaneously by host immune system. With persistent HPV infection, decades are required for progression to cervical cancer. Therefore, this long time window provides golden opportunity for clinical intervention, and the fundament here is to elucidate the carcinogenic pattern and applicable targets during HPV‐host interaction. In this review, we discuss the key factors that contribute to the persistence of HPV and cervical carcinogenesis, emerging new concepts and technologies for cancer interventions, and more urgently, how these concepts and technologies might lead to clinical precision medicine which could provide prediction, prevention, and early treatment for patients. We discussed the key factors that contribute to HPV persistency and cervical carcinogenesis, the perspective and novel potential technologies for early diagnose and effective prevention of the disease, and more importantly, how this knowledge of basic science may translate into clinic to provide better personalized health care for patients with cervical cancer. This review contributed to the deeper understanding of effective prevention, screening, and treatment of HPV‐related cervical cancer.