[Gene diagnosis of uterine cervical cancer]

Molecular biologic studies have shown that human papillomavirus (HPV), some oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes are associated with uterine cervical carcinogenesis. We examined HPV DNA typing and its gene expression, oncogenes (c-myc, EGF-R, c-erb B2) and p53 in cervical dysplasia and cancer with molecular biologic, immunohistochemical technique and binding assay to establish a gene diagnosis of uterine cervical cancer. The HPV study revealed that HPV DNA was detected at a high frequency at a higher grade of dysplasia and in the early stage of cervical cancer; especially HPV type 16 was associated with cervical carcinogenesis. In the oncogene study, c-myc gene overexpression was recognized in the advanced stage of cervical cancer. The other oncogene and p53 were found in a low frequency and were non-specific genes in cervical cancer. These findings indicated that HPV DNA diagnosis is a useful tool for screening the high risk group of cervical precancerous lesions and that oncogene detection might be useful in determining the biological behavior of a malignant tumor.