| Ovarian cancer is the most common female malignancy and is the leading cause of death from gynecological malignancies. In 2000, 23,100 women had been newly diagnosed, and 14,000 had been died from ovarian cancer in the United States. The majority of patients are diagnosed with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer with widespread metastatic disease. The dismal outcome for ovarian cancer results from an inability to detect the tumor at an early curable stage. As 90% of stage IA and 70% of stage II tumors can be cured by current management, ovarian cancer diagnosed at an early stage has a prognosis. The most likely way to identify ovarian cancer at an early, curable stage and to develop new, effective therapies for advanced ovarian cancers is to improve our understanding of the processes leading to the initiation and progression of this disease. LPA levels are also significantly elevated in plasma from 90% of patients with ovarian cancer regardless of stage. LPA levels are elevated in plasma from 90% stage I, 100% stageâ…¡-â…£and recurrent ovarian cancer. This suggests that LPA in plasma might provide a marker for diagnosis of ovarian cancer, establishing prognosis, or monitoring response to therapy.Recent studies demonstrated that LPA stimulates expression of a number of genes which are involved in the promotion of angiogenesis and metastasis, such as VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor), IL-8 and uPA (urokinase plasminogen activator), highlighting the possibility that LPA may contribute to cancer development and progression through regulation of gene expression. LPA showed to have growth-factor-like activities and LPA biological actions are mediated by G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) that are specific for LPA. LPA stimulates cell migration, proliferation, adhesion, and secretion of angiogenic factors through LPA receptors. At least four GPCRs have been...
|
PDF Full Text Request