ROLE OF TUMOR MARKERS IN CERVICAL CARCINOGENESIS

ABSTRACT

Various types of tumor markers are currently being investigated to ascertain their capability in discriminating pre-cancerous lesions of cervix who have tendency for progression. The adequate treatment of such cases will check any chances of occurrence of carcinoma cervix in the population. The micro- RNAs are sensitive tumor markers but their high cost and sophisticated technique make them not feasible to be introduced in any cervical cancer screening program under Indian setup. Other tumor markers like claudins, p16, Ki67 etc are also very expensive. AgNOR pleomorphic counts and micronuclei counts are cheaper, the farmer being more reliable can be introduced in cytological screening program to identify high risk cases and can easily replace costly Human papilloma virus (HPV)- DNA testing.