Ovarian serous carcinoma is the most threatening type of gynaecological cancer because of late diagnosis at the advanced stage of peritoneal carcinomatosis stage. Identification of precancerous lesions could be essential in our understanding of ovarian carcinogenesis and might allow the development of effective screening tools. A serous carcinogenic sequence has been recently described in the Fallopian tube whereas an ovarian preinvasive lesion--ovarian epithelial dysplasia--was previously found. In light of recent and past molecular studies, we will review and discuss these two theories.
Keywords: Fallopian tube; STIC; ovarian cancer; ovarian carcinogenesis; ovarian dysplasia; p53.