Lenhard et al. BMC Cancer 2012, 12:2 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2407/12/2 Conclusions Serum human gonadotropin levels differ in patients with benign and malignant ovarian tumors. HCG is often expressed in ovarian cancer tissue with a certain variable relation to grade and stage. HCG expression correlates with LH-R expression in ovarian cancer tissue, which has previously been shown to be of prognostic value. Both, the hormone and its receptor, may therefore serve as targets for new cancer therapies, which may directly bind to hCG or its receptor LH-R and increase efficacy and specificity of anticancer treatment, thus reducing side effects. Acknowledgements We thank Susanne Kunze and Christina Kuhn for their assistance with immunohistochemistry. Author details 1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Grosshadern Campus, Ludwig- Maximilians-University Hospital, Marchioninistrasse 15, 81377 Munich, Germany. 2Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Campus Innenstadt, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Hospital, Maistrasse 11, 80337 Munich, Germany. 3Department of Pathology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Hospital, Thalkirchner Str. 36, 80337 Munich, Germany. Authors’ contributions ML, AT and LS have made substantial contributions to conception, design and acquisition of data. MK, ND and DM have made substantial contributions to analysis and interpretation of data, and have been involved in drafting the manuscript and revising it critically for important intellectual content. KF and UJ have given final approval of the version to be published. In addition, KF and UJ have made substantial contributions to conception and design of the study. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. 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