Abstract: Ovarian cancer bears the highest mortality in gynecologic cancer, and its 5-year survival rate is about 30%. Although 70% to 80% ovarian cancer is epithelial origin, increasing evidence indicates that reciprocal interactions between tumor cells and various types of stromal cells also play important roles in driving ovarian tumor progression and that these stromal cells represent attractive therapeutic targets. This review discusses the biological significance of the cross-talk between ovarian cancer cells and three major types of stromal cells (endothelial cells, fibroblasts and macrophages) and the development of new-generation therapies that target the ovarian tumor microenvironment.

Key words: Ovarian cancer, Tumor stroma, Endothelial cells, Fibroblasts, Macrophages, Targeted therapy