Endometriosis: A Cancer-Like Phenomenon

Alvin Setiawan, Hanom Husni Syam, Wiryawan Permadi, Dian Tjahyadi, Ruswana Anwar, Victor Josue Carrasco Urrutia, Sami Zeineddine, Stefano Angioni
In: Endometriosis - Medical Aspects and Modern Approaches [Working Title] · 2026 · doi:10.5772/intechopen.1015068 · W7155988274
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-06 ⓘ

Endometriosis shares numerous characteristics with malignant tumors, including invasiveness and reduced apoptosis, suggesting complex pathophysiological mechanisms beyond retrograde menstruation.

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⚙ AI-generated deep summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-06 ⓘ

This paper reviews the biology of endometriosis and its relationship to adenomyosis, focusing on why deep endometriosis behaves in a “cancer-like” manner. It synthesizes evidence that endometrial stem/progenitor cells from menstrual fluid may adhere to the peritoneum and drive lesion establishment, and that deep lesions show features resembling malignancy, including reduced apoptosis, increased proliferation under oxidative stress, enhanced invasion (e.g., via MMPs/activins), and neuroangiogenesis (e.g., via NGF/VEGF), while also noting that retrograde menstruation alone cannot explain deep infiltrating disease. The chapter explicitly frames key gaps and uncertainties, especially around the exact origins and differentiation pathways of the implicated stem/progenitor populations and the mechanisms behind deep infiltrating endometriosis onset and progression. This paper is centrally about endometriosis — it argues that endometriosis, particularly deep infiltrating endometriosis, exhibits cancer-like properties despite being categorized as benign, and it also discusses adenomyosis as a related condition.

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Abstract

Endometriosis is an enigmatic disease affecting approximately 10% of the population. This unique disease is often chronic and characterized by inflammation. Even though endometriosis and its related disease, adenomyosis, are benign tumors, both share several natural characteristics similar to malignant tumors, such as decreased apoptosis, higher proliferative activity, invasiveness, neuroangiogenesis, and the ability to spread to surrounding organs as well as distant sites. The pathophysiology of deep endometriosis cannot be explained solely by the classic Sampson theory of retrograde menstruation because it involves more complex mechanisms. Both endometriosis cells and cancer cells differ from normal cells, both possessing similarities and differences in cellular and genetic characteristics, growth patterns, and the ability to evade apoptosis, as well as their relationship with the immune system. By studying these characteristics profoundly, numerous clinical implications can be derived, and further research can be conducted into the approach and management of these diseases.

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Condition tags

endometriosisadenomyosis

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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.

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