title: The Wnt/β-catenin pathway in ovarian cancer: a review.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Ovarian cancer is the deadliest gynecologic malignancy and the fifth leading cause of death from cancer in women in the U.S. Since overall survival remains poor, there is a need for new therapeutic paradigms. This paper will review the Wnt/β-catenin pathway as it relates to epithelial ovarian cancer, specifically its role in chemoresistance and its potential role as a target for chemosensitization.
  
  
  METHODS
  A PubMed search was performed for articles published pertaining to Wnt/β-catenin pathway specific to ovarian cancer. Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathways play an active role in cancer stem cells (CSCs) and carcinogenesis of all ovarian cancer subtypes. Studies also have shown that ovarian CSCs are involved in chemoresistance, metastasis, and tumor recurrence.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Wnt/β-catenin target genes regulate cell proliferation and apoptosis, thereby mediating cancer initiation and progression. The Wnt/β-catenin pathway is one of the major signaling pathways thought to be involved in epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Alterations affecting Wnt pathway proteins on the cell membrane, in the cytoplasm, and in the nucleus have been shown to play important roles in the tumorigenesis of ovarian cancer.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Wnt signaling is activated in epithelial ovarian cancer. Given the role of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway in carcinogenesis, more pre-clinical studies are warranted to further investigate other Wnt inhibitors in ovarian cancer. The Wnt pathway should also be investigated as a potential target in the development of new drugs for ovarian cancer as a single agent and in combination with chemotherapy or other targeted agents.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA. Electronic address: rarend@uabmc.edu.
authors.forename: Rebecca C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Arend
authors.forename: Angelina I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Londoño-Joshi
authors.forename: J Michael
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Straughn
authors.forename: Donald J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Buchsbaum
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D051153:Wnt Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D060449:Wnt Signaling Pathway; D051176:beta Catenin / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: C495270:CTNNB1 protein, human; D051153:Wnt Proteins; D051176:beta Catenin
keywords: Ovarian cancer; Wnt; β-Catenin