Commentary: microRNAs in stage I epithelial ovarian cancer : The Lancet Oncology

"In epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), miRNA-expression profiles have been described that are associated with different characteristics of ovarian cancer (eg, tumour subtype, stage, histological grade, prognosis, and therapy resistance)........However, these studies should focus on pure histotypes, as EOC is thought to be a heterogeneous disease in which some histotypes are completely different entities all together, with different response outcomes to standard treatment. Another confounding factor for prognostic marker discovery might be exposure to platinum-based combination chemotherapy. Preferably, only patients who did not receive chemotherapy should be analysed for PFS. Because stage I EOC samples are relatively rare, we encourage additional studies to be done by international consortia. With the above-mentioned considerations in mind, valid miRNA biomarkers will be identified that can be of use in the clinic, and help to personalise treatment."