Ovarian surface epithelium

Fig. 5. Immunohistochemical expression of (a) hK14 by the ovarian surface epithelium (polyclonal antibody), (b) hK14 by a cystadenocarcinoma of the ovary (polyclonal antibody),...

Qvarian cancer is much less common in married women, and during the last 30 years a direct inverse association has been found between the number of pregnancies and the duration of use of oral contraception on the one hand and the occurrence of ovarian cancer on the other. In 1971 a Lancet reviewer suggested that incessant ovulation might be a causal factor for the development of cancer of the ovary, in that the repeated rupture of follicles involved a cycle of damage to the surface epithelium,... 

Fig. 1. Full-grown oocyte within its ovarian follicle. The follicle consists of the outer surface epithelium (SE), the middle theca (T), and the inner follicular epithelium, which, in this particular case, is represented almost entirely by the follicle cell nucleus (FCN). Macrovilli (MAV) from the follicle cell and microvilli (MIV) from the oocyte extend into the substance of the vitelline membrane (VM). Also shown are cortical granules (CG), yolk platelets (YP), pigment granules (PG), and lipid droplets (L). See Smith et al. (1968) for additional information.

CA 125 is a mucin-like glycoprotein antigenic determinant expressed on the surface of coelomic epithelium and human ovarian carcinoma cells however, it does not appear to be specific for ovarian cancer because elevated levels have been reported in breast and colorectal cancers. Studies have shown increased CA 125 levels in patients with ovarian cancer, whereas decreased CA 125 levels in chemotherapy are associated with improved possibility for survival. Some studies have shown failure of CA 125 levels to return to normal after chemotherapy, indicating... 

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