Semaphorin4D Association with Poor Prognosis and M2 Macrophage Differentiation in Epithelial Ovarian Cancer

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is the leading killer among all gynecological malignancies (Siegel et al., 2012). Over 70% of EOC patients present with late stage diseases and dissemination of tumor implants throughout the peritoneal cavity (Bast et al., 2009). Ascites is one of the most common and distressing complications associated with EOC, especially for advanced stage diseases (Auersperg et al., 2002). Different from stroma surrounding solid tumors, ascites constitute a unique form of tumor microenvironment. Recent evidences suggested that ascites of EOC play a positive role on cancer peritoneal dissection and metastasis owing to containing plenty of growth factors, cytokines, extracellular matrix constituents, and cancer-promoting immunocytes, especially tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), which