![]() | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract OvCa is a major public health problem, with more than 190.000 new cases of OvCa every year all over the world. Early stage OvCa is usually asymptomatic, while the advanced stage shows non-specific symptoms and signs, leading to late diagnosis with more than 60% of patients with advanced stages. Prognosis of OvCa depends on the stage of the neoplasm, as early localized stages has 5 year survival rate reaching up to 90%, while it drops to be less than 30% in advanced stages. No single etiologic hypothesis for ovarian carcinogenesis is described. Also, there are neither effective biomarkers to identify early disease, nor reliable prognostic markers for predicting clinical response to treatment. Hence, malignant ovarian tumors are the most lethal gynecologic malignancy and have the highest death-to-incidence ratio. br OvCa term describes a heterogeneous disease formed of diverse subtypes; each type has different clinical features, microscopic appearances and biological and genetic backgrounds. Heterogeneity of OvCa is responsible for the poor understanding of its pathogenesis. This heterogeneity may be attributed to the multiple genetic and epigenetic changes detected in OvCa patients; however, the mechanism by which these changes affect tumorigenesis is not yet clear. |