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Controlling ovarian cancer: An introduction to detection and treatment
With current strategies proving inadequate, what needs to be done is to further the research into detecting, treating, and controlling ovarian cancer. Specifically, ovarian cancer develops when malignant ovarian cancer cells proliferate on the surface of the ovary and directly migrate/exfoliate to the peritoneal cavity where they attach to structures such as the omentum. Women at early stages of tumor growth on the omentum do not display specific symptoms and hence the tumors remain unnoticed until tumor growth is extensive. Because the ovarian tumor cells do not metastasize via the blood stream early detection of mutant cells in serum samples is not feasible with current methods. More sensitive assays and specific markers of ovarian cancer are needed.

Ovarian cancer research: Examining ovarian function and dysfunction
Ovarian cancer is largely a misnomer because the cells giving rise to malignant tissue are not derived from either follicular or luteal cells. Instead, ovarian cancer cells evolve from ovarian surface epithelial cells (OSEs) that cover the surface of the ovary and fallopian tube and separate these tissues from the abdominal peritoneal cavity. Unlike other cancers that metastasize through the vascular system, ovarian cancer cells detach from the ovarian surface, disseminate and grow in the peritoneal cavity. What are the causes of ovarian cancer? The answers to this question are complex. There is not just one, but many underlying factors. However, the most common cause that initiates cancer involves mutations in specific genes, such as tumor protein 53 (TP53), BRAC1/2, KRAS, PTEN, that lead to abnormal cell proliferation and evasion of cell death. Many of these genes are involved in DNA repair, essential for maintaining normal gene expression; others are involved in metabolic/ growth regulatory pathways.