ABSTRACT

Cervical cancer is one of the major health problems in women, representing the fourth most common cancer worldwide. 1 The main etiological factor for cervical cancer is persistent infection with the human papilloma virus (HPV), out of which HPV 16 and 18 account for 50–70% of cervical cancer cases. HPV infection leads to dysregulation of important signaling pathways that alter the expression of transcription factors which play vital role in normal cell function. These impaired signaling pathways thus, may serve as targets for cancer drug development. Despite advanced anticancer therapies, the issues of low survival rates, drug associated side effects and recurrence still persist. 3 In recent years, plants and herbs have been accepted as one of the main sources of chemopreventive drugs. 4 Thus, herbal medicines are being investigated for their use as adjunct to conventional therapies to manage the debilitating side effects associated with the latter. This review focuses on important signaling pathways that are reported to be targeted by medicinal plants in the management of cervical cancer. The pathways that have been described include p53 and Rb related pathways affected by HPV cell cycle regulation, angiogenesis, inflammation, PI3K/AKT/mTOR, and ras/raf/mitogen-activated protein kinase.