The emerging role of CXC chemokines in epithelial ovarian cancer

In recent years, chemokines have generated intense investigations due to their involvement in both physiological and pathological processes of inflammation, particularly in ovarian biology. The physiological process of ovulation in the normal ovary involves various chemokines that mediate the healing of the ruptured endometrium. It is now being reported that many of these chemokines are also associated with the cancer of the ovary. Chronic inflammation underlies the progression of ovarian cancer; therefore, it raises the possibility that chemokines are involved in the inflammatory process and mediate immune responses that may favour or inhibit tumour progression. Ovarian cancer is a gynaecological cancer responsible for highest rate of mortality in women. Although there have been several investigations and advances in surgery and chemotherapy, the survival rate for this disease remains low. This is mainly because of a lack of specific symptoms and biomarkers for detection. In this review, we have discussed the emerging role of the CXC chemokines in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). The CXC group of chemokines is gaining importance in the field of ovarian cancer for being angiostatic and angiogenic in function. While there have been several studies on the angiogenesis function, emerging research shows that ELR−CXC chemokines, CXCL9 and CXCL10, are angiostatic. Importantly, the angiostatic chemokines can inhibit the progression of EOC. Given that there are currently no biomarkers or specific therapeutic targets for the disease, these chemokines are emerging as promising targets for therapy.