Environmental risk factors for prevention and molecular intervention of cervical cancer

William W. Au, Salama Abdou-Salama, Carlos H. Sierra-Torres, Ayman Al-Hendy

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

21 Scopus citations

Abstract

Cervical cancer (CC) is potentially the most preventable and treatable cancer in human but it is a leading cause for cancer morbidity and mortality in women around the world. Therefore, more innovative prevention and treatment protocols need to be developed and implemented. With better understanding of the etiology of the disease, specific prevention protocols that involve life-style modifications to minimize the impact of environmental risk factors can be developed. It may be necessary to implement unique modification protocols for different countries. In addition, antiviral vaccine is a highly promising prevention approach. With respect to therapy, the development of more specific protocols that have fewer side effects is needed. With the availability of sophisticated molecular techniques, a new generation of targeted approach that has the potential to generate outstanding efficacy is being tested. Using the siRNA technology against the expression of human papillomavirus oncogenes, specific biological pathways that are essential to the growth and survival of the CC cells can be interrupted. Another promising approach is the molecular intervention of the estrogen pathway by blocking the expression of estrogen receptors. These molecular techniques may work by reactivating endogenous regulatory processes, e.g., the core apoptotic machinery, that can cause self-destruction of the CC cells, thus providing potentially effective molecular therapy. These topics are discussed in this review.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)671-678
Number of pages8
JournalInternational Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health
Volume210
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 3 2007
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Cancer prevention
  • Cervical cancer
  • Cigarette smoking
  • Dominant negative estrogen receptor
  • Estrogen
  • Gene therapy
  • HPV infection
  • Molecular therapy
  • SiRNA

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Environmental risk factors for prevention and molecular intervention of cervical cancer'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this