Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21212, USA.
Future Oncol. 2009 Dec;5(10):1641-57. doi: 10.2217/fon.09.126.
Ovarian cancer is the most malignant gynecologic neoplasm. Although new chemotherapeutic agents have improved patients' 5-year survival rate, the overall mortality of ovarian cancer has remained largely unchanged in the past several decades. The main reason for the lack of success in effectively treating ovarian cancer is our limited understanding of its etiology and the very few molecular diagnostic markers and therapeutic targets known so far. Identification and characterization of ovarian cancer-associated genes are fundamental for unveiling the pathogenesis of its initiation and progression, especially the development of recurrent diseases. As there are a vast number of genes for which molecular genetic changes and aberrant gene expression have been reported in ovarian cancer, this review will only focus on summarizing those exemplified genes that have been demonstrated to have biological functions in promoting ovarian cancer development and potential clinical significance. The genes to be discussed include nuclear proteins (Notch3, HBXAP [Rsf-1], NAC1 and NFkappaB), cytoplasmic proteins (fatty acid synthase and apolipoprotein E) and cell surface/secretory proteins (mucin-4, mesothelin, claudin, HLA-G, kallikrein and folate receptor and osteopontin). Since the study of ovarian cancer-associated genes is complicated by several factors unique to ovarian cancer, we will also present our views on the limitations and challenges of current ovarian cancer research.
卵巢癌是最恶性的妇科肿瘤。尽管新的化疗药物提高了患者的 5 年生存率，但在过去几十年中，卵巢癌的总体死亡率基本保持不变。治疗卵巢癌缺乏成功的主要原因是我们对其病因学的认识有限，以及目前已知的分子诊断标志物和治疗靶点非常少。鉴定和描述卵巢癌相关基因对于揭示其发生和发展的发病机制至关重要，特别是复发疾病的发展。由于卵巢癌中有大量报道了分子遗传变化和异常基因表达的基因，因此本综述仅重点总结那些已被证明具有促进卵巢癌发展的生物学功能和潜在临床意义的基因。将要讨论的基因包括核蛋白（Notch3、HBXAP [Rsf-1]、NAC1 和 NFkappaB）、细胞质蛋白（脂肪酸合酶和载脂蛋白 E）和细胞表面/分泌蛋白（黏蛋白-4、间皮素、紧密连接蛋白、HLA-G、激肽释放酶和叶酸受体以及骨桥蛋白）。由于卵巢癌相关基因的研究受到卵巢癌特有的几个因素的影响，我们还将对当前卵巢癌研究的局限性和挑战提出看法。
