[Biochemical prognostic factors of ovarian carcinoma]

In therapy decision and monitoring of ovarian cancer clinicians use clinical and histomorphological criteria. Thus, intensive research in tumor biology of ovarian cancer leads to the development of biochemical parameters and a deeper understanding of proliferation and metastasis in-vitro testing of anticancer drugs is one way to achieve a dynamic model to tumor growth. The expression of the erb B oncogene family, especially erb-B-2, is an important finding for the estimation of the potential of an ovary tumor to grow at metastatic sites. The erb B oncogenes encode membrane-growth-factor-receptors functioning in signal transduction for cell growth stimulation. In several studies disease-free survival of advanced ovarian carcinoma was significantly related to the extent of erb-B-2 amplification and/or over-expression. High erb-B-2 expression in the tumor at time of primary treatment indicated a positive second-look-laparotomy. New experimental approaches for alternative therapies use erb-B-2 as the target for interference of tumor cell proliferation.