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BACKGROUND This study aimed to investigate the value of CA125 dynamic change in PFS prediction for patients with epithelial ovarian carcinoma (EOC). MATERIAL AND METHODS Data analysis was performed using SPSS 24.0 statistical software with progression-free survival (PFS) as an outcome measure. Kaplan-Meier method was used to analyze the relationship between PFS and preoperative and postoperative NLR, PLR and CA125 levels, CA125 half-life, CA125-negative time, age, FIGO stage, histopathology, differentiation, vessel carcinoma embolus, and ascites. The survival curves were compared by the log-rank test. Based on the results of single-factor analysis, the Cox model was used for multifactor analysis to analyze independent risk factors affecting the PFS of epithelial ovarian carcinoma. RESULTS A total of 117 patients with EOC were selected from January 2012 to January 2019 to carry out a retrospective study. Univariate analyses showed that PFS of the patients with EOC was associated with differentiation, vessel carcinoma embolus, FIGO stage, CA125 half-life, CA12- negative time, and preoperative NLR (P<0.05). Multivariate analysis by the Cox model showed that vessel carcinoma embolus, CA125 half-life, differentiation, and preoperative NLR are the independent risk factors for PFS in patients with EOC. CONCLUSIONS The serum CA125 dynamic as reflected by CA125 half-life is the most important independent prognostic factor in patients with EOC. The simplicity of CA125 monitoring and its correlation with EOC patient survival can identify patients with poor prognosis through monitoring CA125 half-life, which can provide a reference value for use in clinical practice.

Tumor vaccines offer a number of advantages for cancer treatment. In the study, the vaccination with cancer stem cells (CSCs) with high expression of the type I receptor tyrosine kinase-like orphan receptor (ROR1) was evaluated in a murine model for the vaccine's immunogenicity and protective efficacy against epithelial ovarian carcinoma (EOC). CD117 + CD44 + CSCs were isolated from human EOC HO8910 cell line using a magnetic-activated cell sorting system; murine ID8 EOC suspension sphere cells, which are collectively known as cancer stem-like cells, were acquired from serum-free suspension sphere-forming culture. Mice were subcutaneously immunized with the repeat cycles of freezing and thawing whole HO8910 CD117 + CD44 + CSCs and ID8 cancer stem-like cells, respectively, followed by a challenge with HO8910 or ID8 cells at one week after final vaccination. The results showed that the CSC vaccination significantly induced immunity against EOC growth and markedly prolonged the survival of EOC-bearing mice in the prophylactic setting compared with non-CSC vaccination. Flow cytometry showed significantly increased immunocyte cytotoxicities and remarkably reduced CSC counts in the CSC-vaccinated mice. Moreover, the protective efficacy against EOC was decreased when the ROR1 expression was downregulated by shRNA in CSC vaccines. The findings from the study suggest that CSC vaccines with high ROR1 expression were highly effective in triggering immunity against EOC in vaccinated mice and may serve as an effective vaccine for EOC immunoprophylaxis.

Specific blocking of interactions between ligands and receptors along the angiogenic pathways represents an effective approach for enhancing the efficacy as well as reducing adverse effects of chemotherapy. Over the past decade, there was a rapid progression in the application of this therapeutic strategy in cancer treatment. Anti-angiogenic therapy is the most promising targeted therapy for ovarian cancer. The addition of bevacizumab to conventional chemotherapy, either in the first-line setting or at disease relapse, may improve overall survival (OS) of ovarian cancer patients, at least in a subset of patients with poor prognosis. In this article, we summarize published data on the major agents used for anti-angiogenic therapy in ovarian cancers. We will review the molecular mechanisms, results of clinical trial of existing agents and describe the development of new agents. The limitations and side effects of angiogenesis inhibitor are also discussed., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.)

Background: Accumulating evidence has shown that different immunotherapies for ovarian cancer might overcome barriers to resistance to standard chemotherapy. The vaccine immunotherapy may be a useful one addition to conditional chemotherapy regimens. The present study investigated the use of vaccine of ovarian cancer stem cells (CSCs) to inhibit ovarian cancer growth., Methods: CD117(+)CD44(+)CSCs were isolated from human epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) SKOV3 cell line by using a magnetic-activated cell sorting system. Pre-inactivated CD117(+)CD44(+)CSC vaccine was vacccinated into athymic nude mice three times, and then the mice were challenged subcutaneously with SKOV3 cells. The anti-tumor efficacy of CSC vaccine was envaluated by in vivo tumorigenicity, immune efficient analysis by flow cytometer, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, respectively., Results: The CD117(+) CD44(+)CSC vaccine increased anti-ovarian cancer efficacy in that it depressed ovarian cancer growth in the athymic nude mice. Vaccination resulted in enhanced serum IFN-γ, decreased TGF-β levels, and increased cytotoxic activity of natural killer cells in the CD117(+) CD44(+)CSC vaccine immunized mice. Moreover, the CSC-based vaccine significantly reduced the CD117(+)CD44(+)CSC as well as the aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 positive cell populations in the ovarian cancer tissues in the xenograft mice., Conclusion: The present study provided the first evidence that human SKOV3 CD117(+) CD44(+)CSC-based vaccine may induce the anti-ovarian cancer immunity against tumor growth by reducing the CD117(+)CD44(+)CSC population.

The present study was designed to explore the cross talk between fatty acid synthase (FASN) and HER2 (ErbB2) in ovarian cancer. A total of 60 ovarian cancer patients and 15 normal ovarian tissues were enrolled. Tissue array was conducted by using a tissue microarray instrument. Immunohistochemistry was performed to quantify the expressions of HER2 and FASN. The FASN was detected to be distributed in the cell cytoplasm and was significantly correlated with cancer grade (p = 0.000) and FIGO staging (p = 0.000). Patients with FASN overexpression in ovarian cancer tend to have a worse overall survival rate (p = 0.000). HER2 was also stained to be distributed in the cell cytoplasm associated with higher expression in high-grade cancer. It was also disclosed that FASN expression level is not correlated with HER2 status in ovarian cancer. These results for the first time indicated that a cross talk in FASN and HER2 expressions might be associated with prognosis in malignant ovarian cancer.

Background: The human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUCMSCs) have the ability to migrate into tumors and therefore have been considered as an alternative source of mesenchymal progenitors for the therapy of malignant diseases. The present study was aimed to investigate effect of hUCMSCs as vehicles for a constant source of transgenic interleukin-21 (IL-21) on ovarian cancer in vivo., Methods: The hUCMSCs were engineered to express IL-21 via lentiviral vector- designated 'hUCMSCs-LV-IL-21', and then were transplanted into SKOV3 ovarian cancer xenograft-bearing nude mice. The therapeutic efficacy and mechanisms of this procedure on ovarian cancer was evaluated., Results: The isolated hUCMSCs were induced to differentiate efficiently into osteoblast and adipocyte lineages in vitro. The expressed IL-21 in the supernatant from hUCMSCs-LV-IL-21 obviously stimulated splenocyte's proliferation. The hUCMSCs-LV-IL-21 significantly reduced SKOV3 ovarian cancer burden in mice indicated by tumor sizes compared with control mice. The expressed IL-21 not only regulated the levels of IFN-γ and TNF-α in the mouse serum but also increased the expression of NKG2D and MIC A molecules in the tumor tissues. The down regulation of β-catenin and cyclin-D1 in the tumor tissues may refer to the inhibition of SKOV3 ovarian cancer growth in mice. In addition, hUCMSCs did not form gross or histological teratomas up to 60 days posttransplantation in murine lung, liver, stomach and spleen., Conclusion: These results clearly indicate a safety and usability of hUCMSCs-LV- IL-21 in ovarian cancer gene therapy, suggesting the strategy may be a promising new method for clinical treatment of ovarian cancer.

Various studies examined the relationship between human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2/neu) overexpression and the clinical outcome in patients with ovarian cancer, but yielded conflicting results. Electronic databases updated in May 2013 were searched to find relevant studies. A meta-analysis was conducted with eligible studies which quantitatively evaluated the relationship between HER-2/neu overexpression and survival of patients with ovarian cancer. Survival data were aggregated and quantitatively analyzed. We conducted a final analysis of 3,055 patients from 20 eligible studies and evaluated the correlation between HER-2/neu overexpression and survival in patients with ovarian cancer. Combined hazard ratios suggested that HER-2/neu overexpression was not associated with a significant impact on survival, with the hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) being 1.05 and 0.92-1.19, respectively, overall. When grouped according to the study design type, a statistically significant combined HR was found in retrospective studies (HR = 1.44, 95% CI 1.14-1.75) and no statistically significant combined HR was found (HR = 0.96, 95% CI 0.81-1.11) for prospective studies. HER-2/neu overexpression seems to have no significant impact on survival of ovarian cancer patients. However, a statistically significant combined HR was found in retrospective studies, but not in prospective studies.