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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 July 2020
Although ovarian carcinomas are the most lethal gynecologic tumors, their origins remain unclear. Do they develop from malignant transformation of benign neoplasms through a multistep process of tumor progression, or do they arise de novo? The histologically benign and/or low malignant potential (LMP) components in heterogeneous ovarian carcinomas have been considered as evidence supporting the theory of tumor progression. These components are interpretted as the remnants of pre-existing neoplasms that underwent malignant transformation. In two other possible interpretations, however, such components may be clones which developed independently (de novo hypothesis) or they may represent malignant epithelium which underwent focal maturation (maturation hypothesis).
To evaluate genetic relationships of the histological components in heterogeneous ovarian carcinomas, 10 such neoplasms and 5 normal ovary controls were examined using fluorescence in situhybridization (FISH) on intact paraffin sections (6 μm).The retention of tissue architecture allowed direct correlation of detectable genetic aberrations with histology, and comparison of malignant components with adjacent histologically benign or LMP components.