The Role of Galectins in Cervical Cancer Biology and Progression

Cervical cancer is one of the malignant tumors with high incidence and high mortality among women in developing countries. The main factors affecting the prognosis of cervical cancer are the late recurrence and metastasis and the effective adjuvant treatment, which is radiation and chemotherapy or combination therapy. Galectins, a family containing many carbohydrate binding proteins, are closely involved in the occurrence and development of tumor. They are involved in tumor cells transformation, angiogenesis, metastasis, immune escape, and sensitivity against radiation and chemotherapy. Therefore, galectins are deemed as the targets of multifunctional cancer treatment. In this review, we mainly focus on the role of galectins, especially galectin-1, galectin-3, galectin-7, and galectin-9 in cervical cancer, and provide theoretical basis for potential targeted treatment of cervical cancer.