c‐myc over‐expression in human primary ovarian tumours: Its relevance to tumour progression

Expression of the c‐myc gene was analyzed in 56 human primary ovarian cancer tissues, including 51 common epithelial and 5 non‐epithelial tumours to determine molecular events in the carcinogenic process in ovaries. Over‐expression of the c‐myc gene was found in 37.3% of all ovarian tumour tissues, and in 63.5% of serous adenocarcinoma tissues. Significant over‐expression of the c‐myc gene at Stage III compared with other stages, and one remarkable case of over‐expression in a serous tumour of low malignant potential suggest that c‐myc expression is temporarily activated at some stage(s) during tumorigenesis of ovarian cancer, especially of serous tumours.