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Review Article

RNA-based ovarian cancer research from ‘a gene to systems biomedicine’ perspective

, &
Pages 219-238 | Received 03 Feb 2017, Accepted 05 Apr 2017, Published online: 02 Jun 2017
 

ABSTRACT

Ovarian cancer remains the leading cause of death from a gynecologic malignancy, and treatment of this disease is harder than any other type of female reproductive cancer. Improvements in the diagnosis and development of novel and effective treatment strategies for complex pathophysiologies, such as ovarian cancer, require a better understanding of disease emergence and mechanisms of progression through systems medicine approaches. RNA-level analyses generate new information that can help in understanding the mechanisms behind disease pathogenesis, to identify new biomarkers and therapeutic targets and in new drug discovery. Whole RNA sequencing and coding and non-coding RNA expression array datasets have shed light on the mechanisms underlying disease progression and have identified mRNAs, miRNAs, and lncRNAs involved in ovarian cancer progression. In addition, the results from these analyses indicate that various signalling pathways and biological processes are associated with ovarian cancer. Here, we present a comprehensive literature review on RNA-based ovarian cancer research and highlight the benefits of integrative approaches within the systems biomedicine concept for future ovarian cancer research. We invite the ovarian cancer and systems biomedicine research fields to join forces to achieve the interdisciplinary caliber and rigor required to find real-life solutions to common, devastating, and complex diseases such as ovarian cancer.

Abbreviations: CAF: cancer-associated fibroblasts; COG: Cluster of Orthologous Groups; DEA: disease enrichment analysis; EOC: epithelial ovarian carcinoma; ESCC: oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma; GSI: gamma secretase inhibitor; GO: Gene Ontology; GSEA: gene set enrichment analyzes; HAS: Hungarian Academy of Sciences; lncRNAs: long non-coding RNAs; MAPK/ERK: mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinases; NGS: next-generation sequencing; ncRNAs: non-coding RNAs; OvC: ovarian cancer; PI3K/Akt/mTOR: phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase/protein kinase B/mammalian target of rapamycin; RT-PCR: real-time polymerase chain reaction; SNP: single nucleotide polymorphism; TF: transcription factor; TGF-β: transforming growth factor-β

Acknowledgment

The authors thank the Editor and Reviewers for their significant contributions during the revision period.

Funding

The financial support by Marmara University, Scientific Research Projects Committee (BAPKO) through project FEN-C-DRP-110915-0445 is gratefully acknowledged.

Additional information

Funding

The financial support by Marmara University, Scientific Research Projects Committee (BAPKO) through project FEN-C-DRP-110915-0445 is gratefully acknowledged.

Notes on contributors

Esra Gov

Overall outline of review: EG, KYA; Literature search and writing: EG, MK; Supervision, critical review, and proofreading: KYA; Revision: EG, MK, KYA. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript.

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