Cervical cancer is a common and fatal malignancy of the female reproductive system. Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the primary causal agent for cervical cancer, but HPV infection alone is insufficient to cause the disease. Actually, most HPV infections are sub-clinical and cleared spontaneously by the host immune system; very few persist and eventually develop into cervical cancer. Therefore, other host or environmental alterations could also contribute to the malignant phenotype. One of the candidate co-factors is the β-catenin protein, a pivotal component of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. β-Catenin mainly implicates two major cellular activities: cell–cell adhesion and signal transduction. Recent studies have indicated that an imbalance in the structural and signaling properties of β-catenin leads to various cancers, such as cervical cancer. In this review, we will systematically summarize the role of β-catenin in cervical cancer and provide new insights into therapeutic strategies.

中文翻译：

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β-catenin：子宫颈癌的致癌作用和治疗靶标。

宫颈癌是女性生殖系统的常见致命性恶性肿瘤。人乳头瘤病毒（HPV）是宫颈癌的主要病因，但仅HPV感染不足以引起该病。实际上，大多数HPV感染是亚临床的，并由宿主免疫系统自发清除。极少数会持续下去，最终发展成宫颈癌。因此，其他宿主或环境改变也可能导致恶性表型。候选辅助因子之一是β-catenin蛋白，它是Wnt /β-catenin信号通路的关键组成部分。β-Catenin主要牵涉两个主要的细胞活动：细胞间粘附和信号转导。最近的研究表明，β-catenin的结构和信号特性的不平衡会导致各种癌症，例如宫颈癌。