Oncogene expression and prognosis in cervical cancer

Cancer of the uterine cervix accounts for 80-85% of all female genital tract malignancies in India and also remains a major problem for oncologists in other parts of the world. A major concern regarding the disease is the lack of specific tumor markers for early detection, for accurate prediction of biological behaviour and for accurate assessment of prognosis. A new and exciting answer to this issue may now be available with the description of specific oncogenes and oncoproteins associated with this malignancy. On a clinical level these genes and their products may allow us to improve our understanding of disease etiology, and provide more precise diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic characterization of individual tumors. This paper discusses the possibilities of using altered expression of oncogenes and their products in neoplastic tissue as markers for the diagnosis and prognosis of cervical cancer. These data support the view that detailed analysis of such gene expression has the potential to predict tumor behavior.