Ovarian cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death among women in the United States.
Because of a lack of powerful diagnostic tests, early detection has been difficult. Moreover, the molecular mechanisms involved in the initiation and progression of ovarian cancer remain largely unknown. The two main approaches that we will use to tackle these problems are described below. SAGE analysis of normal ovary and ovarian cancer. The best hope for identifying tumor markers resides in a detailed understanding of the differences between normal and cancer cells.