Role of hormone cofactors in the human papillomavirus-induced carcinogenesis of the uterine cervix.

If human papillomavirus (HPV) is necessary for the development of (pre)neoplastic lesions of the uterine cervix, it is not sufficient. Among the cofactors involved in the malignant transformation of cells infected by HPV, sex hormones may facilitate the cervical carcinogenesis by different mechanisms, including the induction of squamous metaplasia in the transformation zone of the cervix, interactions between steroid hormones and HPV gene expression and alterations of the local immune microenvironment.