The role of vaginal microbiome in development of cervical cancer

Cervical cancer (CC) is the fourth cancer in women worldwide. The main cause of CC is human papillomavirus (HPV). Most vaccines against HPV are based on virus-like particles have no therapeutic effects. Because dysbiosis has been shown to increase cancer risk, lactic acid bacteria (LAB)-based vaccines, which have an immunomodulatory effect, have recently attracted attention [1]. Mucosal immunization with viable colonies of Lactobacillus decreases the risk of CC seems promising. Thus, such research is of high value. There are no data about the correlation between vaginal microbiota and carcinogenesis in the Armenian population. Despite the state program to vaccinate the female population against HPV, the number of cases of CC has not changed since 2015. So, further studies are required to identify the underlying cellular mechanisms and to confirm the positive effect of lactic acid bacteria against different pathogens which can create the base for HPV development. This project aims to detect the main differences in the vaginal microbiome of patients with CC compared it with women's normabiome and develop the new model for investigation of the effects of LAB on the development of CC.