Considering the degree of detail available at the genetic and cellular levels, the Drosophila ovary stands out as a powerful system to identify new players in the regulation of key aspects of cancer progression. In this review, we will comment on how the use of the Drosophila ovary has helped to elucidate some of the molecular bases of ovarian malignancies and to identify and characterize critical tumour suppressor genes and oncogenes with an impact in human pathologies. ; Research in our laboratory is funded by the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad and the FEDER programme (BMC2012-35446), by the Junta de Andalucía (Proyecto de Excelencia P09-CVI-5058) and by the CONSOLIDER programme (CSD-2007-00008). ; Peer Reviewed