Ovarian cancer, malignant ascites and microenvironment. Literature review

Abstract

Ovarian cancer (OC) is a heterogenous disease in terms of genetic mutations and tumor phenotypes and can be divided into I and II types. Type II high grade tumors are more common, accompanied by ascites, and are the main cause of cancer-related death in women. OC associated ascites is considered as valuable source of tumor material containing a wide range of dissolved components and cell populations. Over the past decades, the cellular and acellular components of ascites have been studied, but its effect on chemoresistance and the development of metastasis continues to be studied. This review describes the pathogenesis of ascites in OC, it’s cellular and acellular components, many of which are prognostic factors as well as markers of the effectiveness of anticancer therapy. Further study of the ascitic fluid composition in OC will help to identify not only prognostic factors, but also the points of application of targeted drugs and will improve the results of OC treatment.

Keywords

• epithelial-mesenchymal transition
• cancer stem cells
• chemotherapy
• pro-inflammatory cytokines
• vascular endothelial growth factor
• survival