full free access: The detection, treatment, and biology of epithelial ovarian cancer

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Review
The detection, treatment, and biology of epithelial ovarian cancer

Jennifer A.A. Gubbels email, Nick Claussen email, Arvinder K. Kapur email, Joseph P. Connor email and Manish S. Patankar email

Journal of Ovarian Research 2010, 3:8doi:10.1186/1757-2215-3-8
Published: 29 March 2010
Abstract (provisional)

Ovarian cancer is particularly insidious in nature. Its ability to go undetected until late stage coupled with its non-descript signs and symptoms make it the seventh leading cause of cancer related deaths in women. Additionally, the lack of sensitive diagnostic tools and resistance to widely accepted chemotherapy regimens make ovarian cancer devastating to patients and families and frustrating to medical practitioners and researchers. Here, we provide an in-depth review of the theories describing the origin of ovarian cancer, molecular factors that influence its growth and development and standard methods for detection and treatment. Special emphasis is provided to interactions between ovarian tumors and the innate and adaptive immune system and attempts that are currently underway to devise novel immunotherapeutic approaches for the treatment of ovarian tumors.