['We sought to explore the mechanisms of cervical carcinoma response to epidermal growth factor (EGF), and then identify biologically active small molecules capable of targeting the sub-pathways that were dysregulated in cervical cancer cells in the response to EGF.', 'Differentially expressed genes and pathways were analyzed based on the transcription profile of GSE6783, and then the differentially expressed molecules were further analyzed by several bioinformatics methods.', 'Our results suggested that EGF could promote cervical cancer cell proliferation through triggering the dysregulation of certain sub-pathways in the mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathway, p53 signaling pathway and pathways in cancer. Furthermore, our bioinformatics analysis revealed a total of 49 small molecules which may play a role in perturbing the response to EGF of cervical cancer cells.'] Does bioinformatics analysis reveal potential candidate drugs for cervical cancer?