Dydrogesterone in the treatment of endometriosis: evidence mapping and meta-analysis

Chao Peng, Yan Huang, Yingfang Zhou
Archives of gynecology and obstetrics · 2021 · vol. 304(1) , pp. 231–252 · doi:10.1007/s00404-020-05900-z · PMID:33398505 · PMC8164626 · W3119067787
article OA: gold CC0 ⤵ 20 in-corpus citations
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-08 ⓘ

This evidence mapping and meta-analysis identified limited evidence suggesting dydrogesterone may offer advantages over gestrinone and GnRH agonists for endometriosis treatment regarding pain relief and pregnancy rates.

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Abstract

PURPOSE: Endometriosis is a common, chronic gynecological disease that affects women's fertility potential. Dydrogesterone is an effective and safe drug that is under-utilized due to limited clinical research. The purpose of this evidence mapping is to identify, describe, and analyze the current available evidence regarding dydrogesterone for the treatment of endometriosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a search in electronic databases: Medline, The Cochrane Library, EMBASE, PubMed, CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, and CBM. We also hand-searched google for relevant studies. Our primary outcomes included changes in pain relief including pelvic pain, dysmenorrhea, and dyspareunia. Secondary outcomes included pregnancy rate, frequency of analgesic use, and other reported outcomes according to specific settings in the studies. RESULTS: Of 377 references screened, 19 studies were included in the data synthesis involving 1709 female participants. Nearly three-quarters were either randomized control trials or clinical control trials. Compared with gestrinone, dydrogesterone relieved dysmenorrhea, increased the pregnancy rate, and reduced the risk of certain adverse events. Compared with GnRH-a, dydrogesterone also lowered the risk of endometriosis recurrence and elevated transaminase levels. Whether there was any difference in efficacy between dydrogesterone and leuprolide acetate, letrozole or traditional Chinese medicine remains unclear due to insufficient data. CONCLUSIONS: The amount and quality of evidence evaluating the effects of dydrogesterone for the treatment of endometriosis is generally very low. Limited evidence suggests that dydrogesterone may have some advantages over gestrinone, GnRH agonists, and other therapeutic interventions in treating endometriosis. However, this conclusion should be interpreted with caution.

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Condition tags

endometriosisdysmenorrheadyspareunia

MeSH descriptors

Dydrogesterone Endometriosis Progestins Cohort Studies Dydrogesterone Endometriosis Female Humans Neoplasm Recurrence, Local Pregnancy Progestins Quality of Life

Citation neighborhood

Papers in the corpus that this work cites (lower rings, blue) and that cite this one (upper rings, green). Dot size scales with the paper's in-corpus citation count — bigger dot = more influential within the endo/adeno field. Click a dot to open that paper. [ expand to 2 hops ] — adds papers reached through this work's immediate citers/citees. Heavier; up to 60 extra dots.

References (26)

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