Estrogens and the Schrödinger's cat in the ovarian tumor microenvironment

Gjorgoska, Marija (author), Lanišnik-Rižner, Tea (author)

Ovarian cancer is a heterogeneous disease affecting the aging ovary, in concert with a complex network of cells and signals, together representing the ovarian tumor microenvironment. As in the “Schrödinger’s cat” thought experiment, the context-dependent constituents of the—by the time of diagnosis—well-established tumor microenvironment may display a tumor-protective and -destructive role. Systemic and locally synthesized estrogens contribute to the formation of a pro-tumoral microenvironment that enables the sustained tumor growth, invasion and metastasis. Here we focus on the estrogen biosynthetic and metabolic pathways in ovarian cancer and elaborate their actions on phenotypically plastic, estrogen-responsive, aging immune cells of the tumor microenvironment, altogether highlighting the multicomponent-connectedness and complexity of cancer, and contributing to a broader understanding of the ovarian cancer biology.

• Language: English
• Keywords: ovarian cancer, estrogens, immunosuppressive microenvironment, plasticity
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.02 - Review Article
• Organization: MF - Faculty of Medicine
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2021
• Number of pages: 17 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 13, iss. 19, art. 5011
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-136270
• UDC: 616-006
• ISSN on article: 2072-6694
• DOI: 10.3390/cancers13195011
• COBISS.SI-ID: 79662851
• Publication date in RUL: 21.04.2022

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Cancers
• Shortened title: Cancers
• Publisher: MDPI
• ISSN: 2072-6694
• COBISS.SI-ID: 517914137

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.
• Licensing start date: 06.10.2021

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: rak jajčnikov, estrogeni, imunosupresivno mikrookolje

Projects

• Funder: ARRS - Slovenian Research Agency
• Project number: J3-2535
• Name: Vloga androgenov pri hormonsko odvisnih boleznih: pomen za diagnostiko in zdravljenje