In the present study, using a quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR), we investigated the expression of a multi-marker gene panel, consisting of EpCAM, MUC1, CEA, HE4 and CA125 mRNAs as putative CTC markers in the blood of patients with ovarian cancer before the initiation of and after the completion of adjuvant chemotherapy. Here, MUC1 is linked to ovarian carcinoma.