Breast cancer is a threatening scenario resulting from the development of endometriosis and benign breast disease overlap syndrome: literature review

T.A. Lunko, O. O. Lytvynenko, A.S. Lunko, Sergii Konovalenko, Anna V. Khmel
In: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENDOCRINOLOGY (Ukraine) · 2025 · vol. 21(2) , pp. 206–214 · doi:10.22141/2224-0721.21.2.2025.1520 · W4409612109
article OA: diamond CC0
🔓 Open OA copy View on OpenAlex View at publisher
⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-06 ⓘ

The overlap syndrome of genital endometriosis and benign breast disease is a precancerous pattern linked to increased breast cancer risk, necessitating integrated clinical monitoring and treatment strategies.

One-sentence paraphrase of the abstract; not a substitute for reading it. No clinical advice. How this works

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

This literature review examines the proposed overlap syndrome between genital endometriosis (GE) and benign breast disease (BBD) as a precancerous pattern contributing to breast cancer risk, using searches of PubMed and Google Scholar for terms including genital endometriosis, benign breast disease/mastopathy, and breast cancer. It reports that in fertile women a “convincing link” between endometriosis and fibrocystic disease has been established, with BBD prevalence in patients with endometriosis cited as 36–38%, and it highlights pilot clinical findings where 20 mg/day oral dienogest for 24 weeks was associated with decreased breast size and regression of mastopathic changes on ultrasound. The review emphasizes that the pathogenetic processes leading to the GE–BBD overlap with increased breast cancer risk may be parallel and non-linear, and notes the limitation that the included evidence includes pilot studies and is based on literature synthesis rather than a single definitive trial. This paper is centrally about endometriosis — it focuses on overlap between genital endometriosis and benign breast disease as an increased breast cancer risk context.

Read from the paper's body, not the abstract. Not a substitute for reading the paper. No clinical advice. How this works

Abstract

Background. According to the National Cancer Registry of Ukraine, mortality from breast cancer (BC) continues to be at the first places in the structure of oncological pathology among the female population. The overlap syndrome of genital endometriosis (GE) and benign breast disease (BBD) can play a significant role in the development of BC. The purpose: using data from modern literature sources, to consider the overlap syndrome of GE and BBD as a precancerous pattern in the development of BC and outline possible steps to solve the problem. Materials and methods. The search and selection of publications was carried out in the PubMed and Google Scholar databases using the following terms: genital endometriosis, benign breast disease, mastopathy, fibrocystic dysplasia, mastalgia, breast cancer, hormone therapy. Results. A convincing link between endometriosis and fibrocystic disease has been established in fertile women: the prevalence of BBD in patients with endometriosis is 36–38 %. Pilot clinical studies have confirmed that in women with endometriosis who received dienogest at a dose of 20 mg/day orally for 24 weeks, a significant decrease in breast size (p < 0.023) and regression of mastopathic changes were observed when assessing the effect of progestogen on the breast using ultrasound. A slight decrease (p = 0.089) in the maximum diameter of the ducts was observed. At the stages of development of the overlap syndrome of GE and BBD with a confirmed increased risk of BC, a complex pathogenetic matrix is formed, the processes in which are often not linear, but can occur in parallel, demonstrating the diversity and unpredictability of biological events. The high percentage of overlap syndrome of GE and BBD confirms the idea of the unity of the origin of pathological changes in target organs and the synchronous development of benign hyperplastic processes in them. Conclusions. It is advisable to consider hyperplastic diseases as a generalized process in the reproductive system, and to develop single therapeutic tactics when gynecological pathology is combined with breast diseases. The overlap syndrome of GE and BBD, which is a proven factor of increased risk of breast cancer, requires responsible and coordinated teamwork of endocrinologists, mammologists and obstetricians-gynecologists, which is designed to create necessary conditions for a significant improvement in the effectiveness of therapy. The development in the near future of an algorithm for clinical monitoring of patients with overlap syndrome of GE and BBD will be a logical and justified step, because early diagnosis of BC provides better treatment results and an increase in the quality of life of patients.

My notes (saved in your browser only)

Condition tags

endometriosis

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 (72)

Source provenance

openalex
last seen: 2026-06-10T17:14:06.276822+00:00
License: CC0 · commercial use OK