Objective: To sum up the knowledge about genetic aspects of ovarian cancer. Type of study: Review article. Setting: Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University Prague and General Teaching Hospital Prague, Prague. Methods: Compilation of data from scientific literature. Conclusions: Ovarian cancer represents the most lethal malignancy among gynecological tumours. Etiology is still largely unknown. Multistep process, with accumulation of genetic alterations concerning factors with key role in cell regulation – oncogenes, tumor-supressor genes and mismatch-repair genes is supposed. Cytogenetic and molecular-genetic characteristics, in correlation with other molecular-biological parameters extend information of carcinogenesis. The final aim is to create a predictive model for clinical use.

        Key words: ovarian cancer, oncogenes, tumor-supressor genes, mismatch-repair genes, genetic alteration