BIRC2 and cervical cancer: 11q22 is the second most commonly amplified segment in cervical squamous carcinomas (up to 11% of cases), and it also contains apoptosis regulators BIRC2 and BIRC3, amplified in 11.3% of cases, as well as several matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and the progesterone receptor gene, PGR. 11q22 amplifications tend to be more prevalent in 3q26 non-amplified cervical cancers, as shown here, and thus amplification of the two chromosomal segments may be alternative means of cancer cells to up-regulate NEDDylation ligase homologs.