Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Cervical cancer

Squamocolumnar junction ablation—tying up loose ends?

Despite the commercialization of HPV vaccines, cervical cancer remains a major cause of death, especially in developing countries. Recent data implicate a discrete population of cells within the cervical squamocolumnar junction in the pathogenesis of cervical precancerous lesions, indicating that ablation of these cells might reduce the rate of cervical cancer in high-risk populations.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: HPV-related cervical carcinogenesis.

References

  1. Forman, D. et al. Global burden of human papillomavirus and related diseases. Vaccine 30 (Suppl. 5), F12–F23 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Kocken, M. et al. Risk of recurrent high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia after successful treatment: a long-term multi-cohort study. Lancet Oncol. 12, 441–450 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Mirkovic, J. et al. Carcinogenic HPV infection in the squamo-columnar junction. J. Pathol. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/path.4533 (2015).

  4. Wang, X. et al. Residual embryonic cells as precursors of a Barrett's-like metaplasia. Cell 145, 1023–1035 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Herfs, M. et al. A discrete population of squamocolumnar junction cells implicated in the pathogenesis of cervical cancer. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 109, 10516–10521 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Herfs, M. et al. Unique recurrence patterns of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia following excision of the squamo-columnar junction. Int. J. Cancer 136, 1043–1052 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Younge, P. A. Cancer of the uterine cervix; a preventable disease. Obstet. Gynecol. 10, 469–481 (1957).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Peyton, F. W., Peyton, R. R., Anderson, V. L. & Pavnica, P. The importance of cauterization to maintain a healthy cervix. Long-term study from a private gynecologic practice. Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol. 131, 374–380 (1978).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Kauraniemi, T., Räsänen-Virtanen, U. & Hakama, M. Risk of cervical cancer among an electrocoagulated population. Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol. 131, 533–538 (1978).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Taylor, S. et al. Reduced acquisition and reactivation of human papillomavirus infections among older women treated with cryotherapy: results from a randomized trial in South Africa. BMC Med. 8, 40 (2010).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Dr Frank McKeon, Wa Xian and their colleagues at the University of Liege and the Brigham and Women's Hospital for their helpful discussions. The work of the authors is supported in part by a grant from the National Cancer Institute (5R21CA173190-02 to C.P.C.), by the Belgian Fund for Medical Scientific Research (M.H.), by the Centre Anti-Cancereux près l'Université de Liège (M.H.) and by the Fonds Léon Frédéricq (M.H.).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michael Herfs.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

PowerPoint slides

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Herfs, M., Crum, C. Squamocolumnar junction ablation—tying up loose ends?. Nat Rev Clin Oncol 12, 378–380 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrclinonc.2015.104

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrclinonc.2015.104

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing: Cancer

Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Cancer newsletter — what matters in cancer research, free to your inbox weekly.

Get what matters in cancer research, free to your inbox weekly. Sign up for Nature Briefing: Cancer