Ovarian tumors comprise a wide variety of entities. The largest group, epithelial ovarian carcinoma, can be classified into two main groups, type I and type II tumors. Recent advances in the understanding of ovarian cancer development have resulted in the finding of 'serous tubal intraepithelial carcinoma', which is believed to represent the precursor lesion in high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma. In this review, lines of evidence for this are discussed and possible future implications for clinical and research settings are outlined.
Keywords: epithelial ovarian cancer; fallopian tube; high-grade serous carcinoma; precursor; serous tubal intraepithelial carcinoma.
© 2014 The Authors. Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research © 2014 Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology.