Nitric oxide signaling in human ovarian cancer: A potential therapeutic target

Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death due to gynecologic malignancies worldwide. Current therapy regimens are ineffective to treat advanced ovarian cancers, presenting a need to develop novel therapeutic strategies. Nitric oxide (NO) is a multifunctional gaseous molecule that is generated by cancer, stromal and endothelial cells and plays a multifaceted role in cancer biology through multiple mechanisms. Accumulating evidence suggests that NO signaling is involved in multiple aspects of ovarian cancer, including growth, apoptosis, cancer-stromal cell interaction, angiogenesis and response to chemotherapy. This review will discuss the experimental and clinical evidence of the involvement of NO signaling in ovarian cancer and the therapeutic potential of targeting NO signaling in ovarian cancer.