Adhesion and invasion are early steps involved in the metastatic process for ovarian cancer, which has a complex molecular basis that likely involves adhesion molecules, cell surface receptors, oncogenes, chloride channels, fatty acid synthase and focal adhesion kinase [37, 38] Overexpression of COX-2 leads to phenotypic changes in cancer cells that may enhance their tumorigenic potential and invasive ability [39]. Here, CD177 is linked to ovarian carcinoma.