The Inhibition of Cervical Carcinogenesis Through Medroxyprogesteroneacetate Treatment.

The invention of HPV vaccines in 2006 had provided an effective way of preventing cervical cancer. However, not only the vaccines are limited to only 9 HPV types, they are also highly inaccessible in under-developed countries. Current ineffective therapeutic options for cervical cancer beg for a targeted therapy to improve the survival of afflicted women. The role of female hormones is considered very crucial in the mechanism of cervical carcinogenesis. HPV transgenic mice (K14E6/K14E7), that express HPV16 E6 and E7 oncoproteins, show a sustenance of cervical cancer when treated with estrogen (E2). According to our results, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) lesions are observed after 3-months of E2 treatment in mice. These lesions, specifically CIN 3, is the pre-cancer stage which grows into cervical cancer. Our study focuses on the regression of such early cancer stages using Medroxyprogesteroneacetate (MPA, synthetic progesterone). MPA is widely known for its use in the treatment of endometrial cancer. Moreover, the dose we have used is free of severe side effects and symptoms of Menopause. In our research, mice that were treated with E2 treatment for 3 months served as a control group. Whereas in the experimental group, mice were treated for 2 days with MPA beyond the 3 months E2 treatment. Our results convincingly suggested that MPA decreases the thickness of cervical epithelium in E2+MPA co-treated group as compared to the E2 treated group alone. Thus, MPA has proven to inhibit the growth of cervical cancer in HPV transgenic mice.