To further understand which target gene among the 5 potential genes affects the chemotherapy resistance of ovarian cancer cells, we analysed the gene expression level between the primary ovarian cancer and recurrent ovarian cancer groups, and the results demonstrated that only the YES1 expression level was dramatically increased in recurrent ovarian cancer tissues compared with that in primary tissues (Fig. 2B and Additional file 1: Fig. S1). This evidence concerns the gene YES1 and ovarian carcinoma.