The Role of Omics Approaches to Characterize Molecular Mechanisms of Rare Ovarian Cancers: Recent Advances and Future Perspectives

Rare ovarian cancers are ovarian cancers with an annual incidence of less than 6 cases per 100,000 women. They generally have a poor prognosis due to being delayed diagnosis and treatment. Exploration of molecular mechanisms in these cancers has been challenging due to their rarity and research efforts being fragmented across the world. Omics approaches can provide detailed molecular snapshots of the underlying mechanisms of these cancers. Omics approaches, including genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics, can identify potential candidate biomarkers for diagnosis, prognosis, and screening of rare gynecological cancers and can aid in identifying therapeutic targets. The integration of multiple omics techniques using approaches such as proteogenomics can provide a detailed understanding of the molecular mechanisms of carcinogenesis and cancer progression. Further, omics approaches can provide clues towards developing immunotherapies, cancer recurrence, and drug resistance in tumors; and form a platform for personalized medicine. The current review focuses on the application of omics approaches and integrative biology to gain a better understanding of rare ovarian cancers.