Signature of a silent killer: expression profiling in epithelial ovarian cancer

Expert Rev Mol Diagn. 2004 Mar;4(2):157-67. doi: 10.1586/14737159.4.2.157.

Abstract

With the sequencing of the human genome and the simultaneous development of high-throughput strategies, cancer biologists have entered an exciting new area for gene expression analysis, with the ability to glimpse higher order patterns of genetic and epigenetic alterations in complex diseases. Ovarian cancer biologists are rising to the challenge of applying these new technologies to this silent killer, with the eventual goal of improving the quality of life and long-term survival of patients. This review provides a summary of the disease, a description of available technologies and their application to the ovarian cancer problem, as well as a discussion on the challenges and opportunities related to DNA microarray expression profiling-based research, including downstream clinical applications.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Biomarkers, Tumor
  • Epithelial Cells / pathology
  • Epithelial Cells / physiology*
  • Female
  • Gene Expression Profiling*
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic
  • Humans
  • Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis
  • Ovarian Neoplasms / diagnosis
  • Ovarian Neoplasms / genetics*
  • Ovarian Neoplasms / metabolism
  • Ovarian Neoplasms / pathology*
  • Prognosis
  • Survival Rate
  • Treatment Outcome

Substances

  • Biomarkers, Tumor