The forkhead box L2 transcription factor (FOXL2) is differentially expressed in high-grade serous ovarian cancers.
Ovarian cancer is the most lethal gynecologic cancer (1). We sought to identify genes associated with high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSC) by comparing global gene expression profiles of normal ovary with that of primary tumors from women diagnosed with HGSC using published microarray data (2, 3). We identified the forkhead box L2, (FOXL2) (4) as among the genes whose expression was most different in HGSC ovarian tumors. FOXL2 expression was significantly lower in ovarian tumors relative to normal ovary. FOXL2 has established roles in ovarian development (4, 5), and the FOXL2 gene is mutated in granulosa-cell tumors of the ovary (6). These data indicate FOXL2 might also be perturbed, at the level of gene expression, in high-grade serous ovarian cancers.