Biomarkers of cervical dysplasia and carcinoma

Although cervical cytology screening has decreased the incidence of cervical cancer in industrialized countries,hpv-related cervical disease,including premalignant and malignant lesions,continues to represent a major burden on the health care system. some of the problems include the potential for either under- or overtreatment of women due to decreased specificity of screening tests as well as significant interobserver variability in the diagnosis of cervical dysplastic lesions. although not completely elucidated,the hpv-driven molecular mechanisms underlying the development of cervical lesions have provided a number of potential biomarkers for both diagnostic and prognostic use in the clinical management of these women. copyright © 2012 sonya j. hwang and kenneth r. shroyer.