Fertility drugs and ovarian epithelial cancer: The endometriosis hypothesis

Paulson RJ, Richard J. Paulson, R J Paulson
Journal of assisted reproduction and genetics · 1997 · vol. 14(4) , pp. 228–230 · doi:10.1007/bf02766115 · PMID:9130072 · PMC3454688 · W1973593348
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06+body, 2026-06-29 ⓘ

This paper explores the hypothesis that fertility drugs may increase ovarian epithelial cancer risk by promoting the development or progression of endometriosis.

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This brief paper discusses the endometriosis hypothesis as it relates to whether fertility drugs might influence the risk of epithelial ovarian cancer. It synthesizes prior epidemiologic and biological observations about ovarian cancer risk in infertile women and after infertility treatments, and it draws on evidence suggesting a possible malignant transformation pathway from endometriosis to early epithelial ovarian cancer. The paper’s main limitation is that it is not an original empirical study and does not present new data or a systematic quantitative analysis. Relevance to endometriosis: it explicitly frames ovarian epithelial cancer risk in terms of endometriosis-driven mechanisms, citing reports of histologic transformation of benign endometriosis to early epithelial ovarian cancer, though the paper’s main focus is fertility drugs and cancer risk.

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References Whittemore AS, Harris R, Itnyre J, the Collaborative Ovarian Cancer Group: Characteristics relating to ovarian cancer risk: Collaborative analysis of 12 US case-control studies. II. Invasive epithelial ovarian cancers in white women. Am J Epidemiol 1992;136:1184–203 Rossing MA, Daling JR, Weiss NS, Moore DE, Self SG: Ovarian tumors in a cohort of infertile women. N Engl J Med 1994;331:771–776 Venn A, Watson L, Lumley J, Giles G, King C, Healy D: Breast and ovarian cancer incidence after infertility and in vitro fertilisation. Lancet 1995;346:995–1000 Fathalla MF: Factors in the causation and incidence of ovarian cancer. Obstet Gynecol Surv 1992;27:751–768 Hankinson SE, Hunter DJ, Colditz GA, Willett WC, Stampfer MJ, Rosner B,et al.: Tubal ligation, hysterectomy, and risk of ovarian cancer. JAMA 1993;270:2813–2818 Cramer DW, Welch WR, Scully RE, Wojciechowski CA: Ovarian cancer and talc: A case-control study. Cancer 1982;50:372–376 Israel R: Pelvic endometriosis.In DR Mishell Jr, V Davajan, RA Lobo (eds). Infertility, Contraceptive & Reproductive Endocrinology, 3rd ed, Cambridge, MA, Blackwell Scientific, 1991, pp 723–753 Whittemore AS, Wu ML, Paffenbarger RS Jr, Sarles DL, Kampert JB, Grosser S,et al.: Epithelial ovarian cancer and the ability to conceive. Cancer Res 1989;49:4047–4052 Halme J, Becker S, Hammond MG, Raj S: Pelvic macrophages in normal and infertile women: The role of patent tubes. Am J Obstet Gynecol 1982;142:890–895 Haney AF, Misukonis MA, Weinberg JB: Macrophages and infertility: Oviductal macrophages as potential mediators of infertility. Fertil Steril 1983;39:310–315 Sainz de la Cuesta R, Eichhorn JH, Rice LW, Fuller AF Jr, Nikrui N, Goff BA: Histologic transformation of benign endometriosis to early epithelial ovarian cancer. Gynecol Oncol 1996;60:238–244 Author information Authors and Affiliations Rights and permissions About this article Cite this article Paulson, R.J. Fertility drugs and ovarian epithelial cancer: The endometriosis hypothesis. J Assist Reprod Genet 14, 228–230 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02766115 Received: Accepted: Issue date: DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02766115

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Condition tags

endometriosis

MeSH descriptors

Endometriosis Fertility Agents Ovarian Neoplasms Confounding Factors, Epidemiologic Contraceptives, Oral Contraceptives, Oral Endometriosis Female Fertility Agents Humans Menstruation Menstruation Ovarian Neoplasms Ovarian Neoplasms Ovulation Ovulation Ovulation Risk Factors

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