The human papilloma virus (HPV) oncoproteins E6 and E7 can reactivate PIWIL2 during cervical cancer (CC) tumorigenesis, with Piwil2 over-expression inducing H3K9 acetylation but reducing H3K9 trimethylation, which contributes to epigenetic reprogramming and embryonic stem cell (ESC) signature maintenance. This evidence concerns the gene PIWIL2 and cervical cancer.