New screening and diagnostic methods for cervical cancer

Cervical cancer is the most prevalent form of female genital cancers. In Russia, cervical cancer is the fifth most common malignant tumor (5.2 % of all malignant tumors), second most common genital cancer (after uterine cancer), and the third most common cancer in women (after breast cancer and colon cancer). Despite its easy visualization, 39.8% of patients are diagnosed at late stages (III-IV). Cervical cancer has various causes and its development is associated with multiple risk factors. Current screening programs for cervical cancer include cytological or primary testing for high-risk carcinogenic human papillomavirus (hrHPV) aimed at the detection of atypical cells or presence of hrHPV strains respectively. In order to increase the efficacy of cytological screening and improve early detection of cervical pathology, it is necessary to standardize specimen collection and implement liquid-based cytology, as well as immuno-cytochemical identification of the p16ipk4a protein. Epigenetic changes associated with impaired DNA methylation are observed at the earliest stages of cancer and can be used as diagnostic and prognostic markers for both diagnosis of existing disorders and assessment of their risk in the future. All facts mentioned above suggests the need to explore the mechanisms underlying alterations in DNA methylation in carcinogenesis and develop the methods to normalize it. We recommend assessing methylation of the promoter region of the tumor suppressor genes in various groups of people considering their ethnicity in order to analyze the causes of cancer development.