Role of cell-cycle regulatory proteins in gynecological cancer.

Human malignant tumors are characterized by abnormal proliferation resulting from alterations in cell-cycle regulatory mechanisms. This review summarizes the current knowledge about these aberrations in malignant tumors of the ovary, endometrium, cervix uteri, and vulva. The data indicate that analysis of single cell cycle stimulating or inhibiting proteins partly produces unexpected, apparently paradoxical results, and cell-cycle regulatory pathways should be regarded as a whole in order to identify the molecular mechanisms leading to abnormal tumor cell proliferation. For the papillomavirus (HPV)- associated cervical and vulvar carcinomas, the manifold effects of the viral oncogenes E6 and E7 on cell-cycle control are described.