PAX1/JAM3 methylation-a novel biomarker for early detection and accurate management of cervical adenocarcinoma

Cervical adenocarcinoma is a relatively special pathological type of cervical cancer. Due to its hidden location, low sensitivity of traditional cytology, and insufficient specificity of high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) detection, it is used in early diagnosis and accurate management. It presents huge challenges. Epigenetic markers represented by DNA methylation provide new breakthroughs in the diagnosis and treatment of cervical cancer. Among them, the dual-gene methylation detection of pairing box gene 1 (PAX1) and junction adhesion molecule 3 (JAM3) has become a new molecular marker with broad prospects because of its significant hypermethylation status in cervical adenocarcinoma tissues and excellent diagnostic sensitivity and specificity. This review summarizes the biological characteristics and carcinogenic mechanism of PAX1/JAM3 double gene methylation and the latest research progress in cervical adenocarcinoma screening and diagnosis, and discusses its application value, existing challenges and future development directions in order to provide new insights and directions for the pathogenesis research and clinical diagnosis and treatment strategies of cervical adenocarcinoma.