The Behbakht lab in association with collaborators has been studying the effects of cholesterol and statins on the response to ovarian cancer chemotherapy for the last 3 years. Reports of improved clinical response to platinum agents in ovarian cancer patient who are concurrently on statins prompted the generation of ex-vivo models to study this effect. The interactions are complex and may involve signaling through the EGFR pathway and sequestration in collagen rafts. The hypothesis is that elevated cholesterol interferes with platinum sensitivity and statins reverse this effect. This is a unique way to study the primary tumor in its microenvironment without using mouse models.