Over the past two decades, important relationships between the 3D genome and human health have emerged. A link between alterations of the 3D genome (also called spatial chromatin structures)and cancer development has been recently demonstrated. Structural variations(SVs) affect more of the cancer genome than other types of somatic genetic alteration.  Analyses of large whole-genome sequencing datasets revealed features that impact rates of 3D genome across the genome in different cancers. In particular, spatial chromatin structures are intricately linked with somatic aberrations. In both the generation and the impacts on the selective fitness of cancer cells, the 3D genome is more specific to individual cancer types than other genetic alterations such as single nucleotide variants.  In the development of gynecological tumors, the alterations in 3D chromatin interactions including CTCF protein function, cancer-risk single nucleotide polymorphisms, viral integration, and hormonal response, have emerged as key regulators of gene expression. Recent studies have revealed that alterations to the DNA structure and of nucleosomal histones have now been implicated in the phenotypic manifestation of many gynecological tumors such as uterine leiomyomas, cervical cancer, ovarian cancer, and endometrial cancer, the 3D genome and the development of gynecological cancer. The purpose of this Review is to provide a synthetic update about the mechanisms of interaction between the 3D genome and the development of gynecological cancer.

3D genome, Gynecological cancers, structural variations, spatial chromatin structures