Is  there any research linking endometriosis with an increased risk of
ovarian cancer or other gynaecological cancers?

Hello bede~

Indeed, one preliminary study has shown that endometriosis *may* be
linked to increased risk of such cancers as malignant melanoma,
breast, and ovarian cancers --in both patients and their families.
This "link" is something doctors and researchers are still looking
into, but "according to the results of an Endometriosis Association
survey of 4,000 of its members, endometriosis sufferers appear to have
an increased risk of breast cancer, melanoma, and ovarian cancer
compared with other women. Their families too, may also have a higher
than average risk of these conditions, as well as of non-Hodgkin's
lymphoma." ("Endometriosis May Increase Cancer Risk,"
http://www.mmjp.or.jp/miyake-w-clinic/news/newsforeign/ENDOMETRIOSIS3.html
)

One of the major questions doctors must ask, however, is whether the
endometriosis itself is increasing cancer risks, or common
denominators are to blame. As one physician states: "It is much more
likely that women with endometriosis develop these cancers because
they share common causes...there is now overwhelming evidence that
environmental pollution plays a major role in the development of
endometriosis...Since both endometriosis and breast cancer are linked
to dioxin, this may be the common denominator. There is also evidence
linking non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma to environmental pollution as well. It
is not so easy to develop a common link between ovarian endometriosis
and ovarian cancer. If there were such a link, one would expect that
endometriosis of the ovary would lead to endometrioid cancer of the
ovary but this is a very rare form of ovarian cancer. A more likely
explanation is that endometriosis is associated with reduced
fertility. Women who have never had children are at greater risk to
develop ovarian cancer. Each baby reduces a woman's risk of ovarian
cancer by twenty percent..." ("Endometriosis and Cancer," by Dr.
Michael D. Birnbaum, MD, PC ) For the full article, please visit
http://www.infertilityphysician.com/endometriosis/cancer.html


For an article that offers statistics about the possible link between
endometriosis and cancer, try this Google cached piece:
://www.google.com/search?q=cache:BqR98eZp3QoC:www.medserv.dk/health/1999/04/22/story03.htm+endometriosis+cancer&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
	
Keywords Used:
endometriosis cancer
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=endometriosis+cancer

Hope this helps,
kriswrite

A recent review is:
Ann N Y Acad Sci  2002 Mar;955:281-92; discussion 293-5, 396-406
Role of endometriosis in cancer and tumor development.

Swiersz LM.

Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Stanford University,
California 94305, USA. lswiersz@leland.stanford.edu

Endometriosis, like cancer, is characterized by cell invasion and
unrestrained growth. Furthermore, endometriosis and cancer are similar
in other aspects, such as the development of new blood vessels and a
decrease in the number of cells undergoing apoptosis. In spite of
these similarities, endometriosis is not considered a malignant
disorder. The possibility that endometriosis could, however, transform
and become cancer has been debated in the literature since 1925.
Mutations in the genes that encode for metabolic and detoxification
enzymes, such as GALT and GSTM, have been implicated in the
pathogenesis of endometriosis and in the progression to carcinoma of
the ovary. PTEN, a tumor suppressor commonly mutated (50%) in
endometrial carcinoma, is found mutated in endometrioid carcinoma of
the ovary, but not in other forms of ovarian cancer. A recent study
has shown that somatic mutations in the PTEN gene were identified in
20% of endometrioid carcinomas and 20.6% of solitary endometrial
cysts, suggesting that inactivation of the PTEN tumor suppressor gene
is an early event in the development of ovarian endometrioid
carcinoma. In addition to cancerous transformation at the site of
endometriosis, there is recent evidence to indicate that having
endometriosis itself may increase a woman's risk of developing
non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, malignant melanoma, and breast cancer.


The full text of this article is available at:
http://www.annalsnyas.org/cgi/content/full/955/1/281
You will need to register, and access to the article will cost you
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