State of the art, new treatment strategies, and emerging drugs for non-hormonal treatment of endometriosis: a systematic review of randomized control trials

Mislav Mikuš, Salvatore Giovanni Vitale, Mario Ćorić, Ćorić M, Zajec V, Vendy Zajec, Michał Ciebiera, Ciebiera M, Carugno J, José Carugno, Jose Carugno, Maurizio Nicola D’Alterio, Mislav Herman, Herman M, Puževski T, Tomislav Puževski, Stefano Angioni, Angioni S
Gynecological endocrinology : the official journal of the International Society of Gynecological Endocrinology · 2022 · vol. 38(11) , pp. 911–917 · doi:10.1080/09513590.2022.2133105 · PMID:36237165 · W4306160412
review OA: closed CC0 ⤵ 8 in-corpus citations
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-12 ⓘ

This systematic review of randomized controlled trials identified promising non-hormonal endometriosis treatments, including dopamine agonists and JNK inhibitors, for pelvic pain.

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Abstract

Objective: The aim of this systematic review is to recap the data obtained from randomized controlled trials looking at new pharmacologic treatments for endometriosis published over the last decade with a focus on non-hormonal therapeutic options alleviating endometriosis-associated pelvic pain.Methods: We identified relevant original studies in the English language through a search of the MEDLINE, Scopus, and EMBASE (2012 to present) databases using the appropriate MeSH terms and applying the article type filter 'randomized controlled trials'. A total of 179 records were found during the electronic search. After a detailed evaluation and review of the manuscripts, seven primary articles met the inclusion criteria. A systematic review of the data was conducted.Results: This review included several, non-hormonal emerging drug therapies for endometriosis-associated pelvic pain. Based on our results, we divided well-founded studies into three subgroups: antiangiogenic agents, immunomodulators, and natural components. Randomized control trials showed promising results with dopamine agonists (cabergoline, quinagolide, and bromocriptine), and the immunomodulatory JNK inhibitor bentamapimod. Agents that have not been represented in randomized control trials or have failed to demonstrate efficacy include statins and TNF-α inhibitors.Conclusion: Although there are substantial improvements in non-hormonal therapy options, majority of the currently available treatment options are supressive rather than curative and do not present a final solution for patients. Future research priorities should be to identify novel target therapies and to evalute the effects of available drugs through different routes of administration.

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Condition tags

endometriosischronic_pelvic_pain

MeSH descriptors

Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis 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 (31)

Cited by (9)

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