Abstract: Ovarian cancer is one of the common gynecological malignancies, and the mortality rate is the tope of three major gynecological malignancies. The hidden onset, rapid development and resistance to chemotherapy are of three characteristics, and most patients have a poor prognosis. Osteopontin (OPN) and matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2) are two kinds of novel tumor markers. In recent years, the high expressions of OPN and MMP-2 in ovarian cancer were found. OPN is a secreted phosphorylated glycoprotein, which can inhibit ovarian cancer cell apoptosis through NF-κB and other pathways, and activate the MAPK signal transduction pathway and change the cytoskeleton. OPN can induce ovarian cancer cell growth and proliferation, and promote cell adhesion and metastasis, by activating the PI3K/Akt pathway. MMP-2 is a type Ⅳ collagenase, which is mainly related to the occurrence, development, invasion and metastasis of ovarian cancer by degrading extracellular matrix proteins and participating in cell signal transduction. In addition, OPN can activate the MMP-2 expression through a variety of signal pathways, and accelerate the degradation of the extracellular matrix around ovarian cancer cells. The combined detection of the two markers can improve the sensitivity and specificity of ovarian cancer diagnosis. The combined detection is also helpful to predict the treatment prognosis. In this article, the effects of OPN and MMP-2 on the biological behaviors of ovarian cancer such as invasion and metastasis, and the molecular mechanism, were discussed.

Key words: Osteopontin；, Matrix metalloproteinase 2；, Ovarian neoplasms；, Biomarkers, tumor；, Adaptor proteins, signal transducing