Table 1.
Key application of glycan-based biomarkers in cervical cancer.
| Application | Type of glycan | Phenotype | Remarks | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diagnostics | ||||
| α2,6 and α2,3-linked sialylation | N-glycan | Early stages of neoplastic transformation. | High true-positive rate and low false-positive rate. | (51, 52) |
| Fucosylation | N-glycan | Increasing grade of cervical dysplasia. | Primary screening in cervical cancer. | (51) |
| ST6Gal 1 | N-glycan | Promoting proliferation and invasion. | A potential diagnostic strategy for cervical cancer. | (11, 53) |
| ST3Gal 3 | N-glycan | Related with cervical intraepithelial lesions. | Enhanced sialyl- transferase transcription is related with cancer invasion. | (53) |
| ST3Gal 4 | N-glycan | It is crucial for cancer growth and proliferation. | A target for the diagnosis of cervical cancer. | (53, 59) |
| OGT | O-glycan | correlating with cell proliferation and cellular senescence. | It provided insights into HPV-associated cervical neoplasms. | (85, 87) |
| Tn | O-glycan | metastatic potential and poor prognosis. | Tn-peptide vaccines can be considered. | (70) |
| Wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) and Helix pomatia agglutinin (HPA) | Lectin | high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN3). | Cervical cancer screening. | (7) |
| Treatment | ||||
| Galectin-1 | Glycan-binding proteins | Reducing radiation-induced cell death. | Galectin-1 functions in radioresistance. | (94) |
| Galectin-7 | Glycan-binding proteins | There is a link between galectin-7 and the sensitivity to chemoradiotherapy | Targeting galectin-7 may be considered a chemoradiotherapy therapy for cervical cancer. | (95) |
| ST045849 | O-glycan | Inhibiting migration and invasion. | The OGT targeting in cervical cancer cell might be of therapeutic value. | (85) |
| Anti-glycan antibodies | Multiple glycans | Patients have significantly better survival outcome. | It could guide therapeutic selection. | (96) |