Gene expression and prognostic significance in ovarian cancer

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is the leading cause of death from gynecological malignancies in the United States. Most patients with EOC will respond to surgical debulking followed by platinum and paclitaxel based chemotherapy. Unfortunately, the relapse rate within 2 years is more than 70%. The molecular events leading to the development of EOC and the molecular factors that may predict response to treatment are not well established. Such knowledge would not only improve the understanding of the biology of EOC, but may help in the identification of new tumor markers and the design of molecular therapies for EOC. A literature review was conducted using MEDLINE to delineate studies that investigated gene expression in ovarian cancer correlated with outcome. A review is presented of the expression and role of the BRCA1 and 2 genes, p53, amplification of Her2/neu, PIK3CA, AKT2, K-ras, c-myc, BRCA1, p53, p16, and p27 in ovarian cancer. Additionally, a review of the use of microarray technology is presented and its use in determining expression patterns in ovarian cancer. The accumulation of data derived from new technologies, as well as that obtained from well-established methods, has provided new insights into gene expression profiles in EOC. The utilization of novel technologies that allow high throughput analysis of thousands of genes may lead to the development of new biomarkers or novel therapies that are urgently needed in this deadly disease.