TY - JOUR AB - Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the leading cause of cervical cancer. The Papanicolaou cytology test is the usually employed type of screening for this infection; however, its sensibility is limited. Only a small percentage of women infected with high‑risk HPV develop cervical cancer with an array of genetic and epigenetic modifications. Thus, it is necessary to develop rapid, reproducible and minimally invasive technologies for screening. DNA methylation has gained attention as an alternative method for molecular diagnosis and prognosis in HPV infection. The aim of the present review was to highlight the potential of DNA methylation in cervical neoplasia screening for clinical applications. It was observed that the methylation human and viral genes was correlated with high‑grade lesions and cancer. Methylation biomarkers have shown a good capacity to discriminate between high‑grade lesions with a transformative potential and cervical cancer, being able to detect these modifications at an early stage. With further research, the epigenetic profiles and subtypes of the tumors could be elaborated, which would aid in therapy selection by opening avenues in personalized precision medicine. Response to therapy could also be evaluated through such methods and the accessibility of liquid biopsies would allow a constant monitoring of the patient's status without invasive sampling techniques. AD - Department of Molecular Virology, Stefan S. Nicolau Institute of Virology, Bucharest 030304, Romania AU - Albulescu,Adrian AU - Plesa,Adriana AU - Fudulu,Alina AU - Iancu,Iulia,Virginia AU - Anton,Gabriela AU - Botezatu,Anca DA - 2021/12/01 DO - 10.3892/etm.2021.10916 IS - 6 JO - Exp Ther Med KW - DNA methylation cervical cancer human papillomavirus cervical screening epigenetics PY - 2021 SN - 1792-0981 1792-1015 SP - 1481 ST - Epigenetic approaches for cervical neoplasia screening (Review) T2 - Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine TI - Epigenetic approaches for cervical neoplasia screening (Review) UR - https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2021.10916 VL - 22 ER -