The cover image is a white leghorn hen (public domain photograph by Stephen Ausmus for the USDA Agricultural Research Service), which is used in the laying hen model of ovarian tumorigenesis. Important features shared by these hens and women include extended periods of repetitive epithelial injury and repair with associated inflammatory factors in a hormonal milieu. Unlike a typical animal carcinogenesis model, the hen model has spontaneous tumor formation without the need for an exogenous carcinogen or genetic engineering. Comparing similarities and differences in altered K-ras, HER2/neu, p53 and other molecular markers between ovarian tumors in humans and those in hens advances our understanding of the pathogenesis of ovarian cancer. Laying hens also are an invaluable resource for assessing ovarian chemopreventive interventions. See articles by Hakim et al. (beginning on page 114) and Johnson (beginning on page 97) for more information.

[Table of Contents]