Angiogenesis and Lymphangiogenesis in Ovarian Cancer : Lessons from the lab to the clinic

Cancer is currently the most common human condition and has exceeded cardiovascular disease in terms of specific incidence and mortality in the last two years. Ovarian cancer has been known for a very long time as unpredictable in terms of the natural evolution. There are virtually unknown 'standard' progression and metastasis models as well as a differential and often inconsistent response to the adjuvant anti-cancer therapy. These uncertainties may be explained by insufficient knowledge of the expression of cell growth factor, of the tumor microenvironment and perhaps not least, of angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis, which have been much less studied in the normal ovary and ovarian tumors than for other tumor locations. In the present study we aimed to study tumor angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis aspects, in the hope that we will succeed to specify their prognostic value and characterize a number of new potential therapeutic targets. This work could not have been accomplished without the collaboration between the Histology and Gynecology Departments of "Victor Babe" University Timioara, and in this way I bring thanks to the colleagues from both departments.