Search

This unique compilation focuses on a very curious organ, the ovary. There are still many unknown facts about the origins of ovarian tissue and ovarian cancer, and each chapter describes in detail the latest insights into the ovary from basic to clinical aspects. Expert authors reveal the most recent findings on ovariogenesis and ovarian carcinogenesis by shedding light on stem cell biology for the ovarian surface epithelial cells or primordial germ cells. Readers will greatly increase their understanding of the relevance of the cells that constitute the ovary, which is of vast significance in comprehending the occurrence mechanism of ovarian tissue and ovarian cancer. In this way the book covers a wide range of fields concerned with the ovary. This work benefits not only gynecologists and obstetricians, but also basic researchers in the field of stem cell biology and all clinicians who are involved in the management of fertility preservation or ovarian cancer.

This volume presents the latest advances and the current status of our understanding regarding ovarian cancer, addressing both the basic and clinical aspects of the disease. In terms of basic medicine, the WHO Classification of Tumors of Female Reproductive Organs was revised in 2014, and that version addresses several new concepts and histopathological classifications not previously included. One of the most revolutionary breakthroughs concerns the genesis of epithelial ovarian tumors, shifting the focus from the ovarian surface epithelium to serous tubal intraepithelial carcinomas. Clinically, the mortality rate of epithelial ovarian cancer has gradually increased over the past few decades, making it essential to pursue multidisciplinary treatment and apply novel techniques such as neoadjuvant chemotherapy in daily clinical practice. The primary clinical task is the effective treatment of recurrent ovarian cancer with early palliative medicine. Fertility-sparing surgery may also be pursued depending on histologic subtypes, stage, extent of disease, and preexisting ovarian reserve with the concept of oncofertility. On the basis of the considerations described above, each expert author elucidates the science of ovarian cancer in detail, thus providing a collection that will benefit young medical oncologists and seasoned gynecologists and obstetricians alike.