Systematic and comprehensive genomic study of cervical cancer completed

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The study, which appeared in Nature (2014; doi:10.1038/nature12881), addresses a public health concern of global significance: cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women and is responsible for approximately 10% of cancer deaths in women—particularly in developing countries where screening methods are not readily accessible. Almost all cases of the disease are caused by exposure to HPV and it is expected that vaccination efforts targeting HPV will decrease cervical cancer cases over time. In the meantime, however, the disease remains a significant threat to women's health.

"Cancer is a disease that affects the whole world, and one question that always arises is: is a given cancer type similar or different across populations?" explained Matthew Meyerson, MD, PhD, one of the paper's co-senior authors. Meyerson is a professor of pathology and medical oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and a senior associate member of the Broad Institute in Boston. "While we don't have the complete answer yet in this case, what we are seeing is that, in two different populations, the causes of cervical cancer are similar and, fundamentally in both cases, it comes down to HPV-genome interaction."



Notable findings included somatic point mutations in the gene ERBB2 (also known as human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 [HER2] and common in breast cancer), a novel mutation in the gene mitogen-activated protein kinase 1 (MAPK1), and mutations in genes affecting the immune system. The researchers were particularly enthused about potential therapeutic targets related to the ERBB2 gene mutations.


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