Resveratrol inhibits glucose metabolism in human ovarian cancer cells.

Objectives: Resveratrol is a phytoalexin found in grapes that inhibits the in vitro growth of multiple tumor cell types. We showed previously that resveratrol induces autophagic cell death in ovarian cancer cells. Because autophagy is typically an adaptive response to nutrient starvation, we hypothesized that autophagy would also be triggered when ovarian cancer cells are nutrient deprived and that resveratrol could in fact be acting by inducing a starvation-like signaling response.

Genistein-induced apoptosis and autophagocytosis in ovarian cancer cells.

Objective: Genistein, a naturally occurring isoflavenoid abundant in soy products, has anti-neoplastic activity in multiple tumor types. There are several mechanisms reported for genistein's anti-neoplastic activity. In the present study, we studied the mechanism of genistein-induced cell death in ovarian cancer cells.

Expression of Bcl-xL in ovarian carcinoma is associated with chemoresistance and recurrent disease.

Objective: The long-term survival of patients with epithelial ovarian cancer is limited by the emergence of tumor cells that are resistant to chemotherapy. We hypothesized that expression of Bcl-x(L), a homologue of Bcl-2 that confers protection from chemotherapy-induced apoptosis, may be predictive of patients' clinical response to treatment, and that treatment with chemotherapy may result in the selection of tumor cells that overexpress this protein.

Methods: We determined the expression of Bcl-x(L) in epithelial ovarian cancers from 28 patients at the time of initial staging laparotomy and in recurrent tumors in the same patients following treatment with platinum-based chemotherapy.