Current approach to epithelial ovarian cancer based on the concept of cancer stem cells

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is the most common ovarian malignancy. EOCs comprise a diverse group of neoplasms, exhibiting a wide range of morphological characteristics, genetic alterations, and biological behaviors. Currently, there is no effective screening for early detection of EOCs and more than two-thirds of EOC patients are diagnosed with advanced stage disease. The major limiting factors in the treatment of EOC patients are recurrence and chemoresistance. Recent studies suggest that EOCs, like other solid tumors, contain distinct populations of cells that are responsible for tumor initiation, maintenance and growth. These cells, termed cancer stem cells (CSCs), display some of the features of normal stem cells and are thought to evade current chemotherapeutic strategies for the treatment of EOCs. Distinguishing CSC-associated antigen profiles may elucidate novel, more sensitive biomarkers for early detection of EOCs and provide molecular targets for the development of new treatment modalities. This review summarizes the current approaches to EOCs based on the concept of CSCs and evaluates their clinical relevance.