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Review
. 2018 Sep 17:2:20.
doi: 10.1038/s41698-018-0063-0. eCollection 2018.

Tumor evolution and chemoresistance in ovarian cancer

Soochi Kim  1   2 , Youngjin Han  2   3 , Se Ik Kim  4 , Hee-Seung Kim  4 , Seong Jin Kim  5   6 , Yong Sang Song  2   3   4   7
Affiliations
Review

Tumor evolution and chemoresistance in ovarian cancer

Soochi Kim et al. NPJ Precis Oncol. .

Abstract

Development of novel strategies to overcome chemoresistance is central goal in ovarian cancer research. Natural history of the cancer development and progression is being reconstructed by genomic datasets to understand the evolutionary pattern and direction. Recent studies suggest that intra-tumor heterogeneity (ITH) is the main cause of treatment failure by chemoresistance in many types of cancers including ovarian cancer. ITH increases the fitness of tumor to adapt to incompatible microenvironment. Understanding ITH in relation to the evolutionary pattern may result in the development of the innovative approach based on individual variability in the genetic, environment, and life style. Thus, we can reach the new big stage conquering the cancer. In this review, we will discuss the recent advances in understanding ovarian cancer biology through the use of next generation sequencing (NGS) and highlight areas of recent progress to improve precision medicine in ovarian cancer.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Histological and molecular heterogeneity in ovarian cancer. a The rate of histological subtypes in Caucasian (above) and Japanese (below). b Most frequently mutated genes identified by NGS technology according to histological subtypes in ovarian cancer
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Patterns of clonal evolution and clinical challenges. Linear evolution occurs in the presence of clonal selection over time but can generate intra-tumoral and inter-tumoral heterogeneity if the selective sweep is incomplete or in a different microenvironment. Branching evolution occurs in the presence of multiple clonal selection over time, thus generate extensive ITH. Neutral evolution occurs in the absence of selective sweep but accumulation of random mutation over time result in extensive ITH. Punctuated evolution occurs in the absence of selective sweep, ITH occurs in the early stage of the tumor development and there is no further subclonal selection and expansion. Color dots indicate clones with different genotypes
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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