Endometriosis: Treatment Strategies

Rafael F Valle, Rafael Valle, John J Sciarra
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 2003 · vol. 997(1) , pp. 229–239 · doi:10.1196/annals.1290.026 · PMID:14644830 · W1992159968
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-06 ⓘ

This review discusses endometriosis treatment strategies, including medical therapies like GnRH analogs and surgical excision, tailored to patient needs and disease stage.

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Abstract

Endometriosis is often a perplexing medical condition for both the physician and the patient. Accordingly, development of treatment strategies based on the needs of the individual patient is highly desirable. Although endometriosis has been part of the clinical practice for almost a century, many questions remain relating to the relationship between endometriosis and infertility as well as endometriosis and pelvic pain. Endometriosis is a disease of reproductive-age women, and it is now well recognized that a genetic susceptibility appears probable. The prevalence in the general population has never been clearly established. Factors to consider in management include the age and reproductive desires of the patient, the stage of the disease, and, most importantly, the symptoms. Therapeutic options include no treatment, medical therapy, surgery, or combination therapy. Oral contraceptives, androgenic agents, progestins, and gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) analogs have all been used successfully, although at the present time, the latter preparations are the most popular medical therapy for endometriosis. Leuprolide acetate, goserelin acetate, and nafarelin acetate are all effective agents. Surgical therapy is appropriate, especially for advanced stages of the disease. Laparoscopy is an effective surgical approach with the goal of excision of visible endometriosis in a hemostatic fashion. Since endometriosis is a chronic condition, it is not uncommon for recurrences to occur. While endometriosis remains an enigmatic disease, the introduction of new pharmacologic agents, such as GnRH analogs and newer endoscopic methods of surgical treatment, have facilitated and improved the overall management of this disease.

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Condition tags

endometriosischronic_pelvic_paininfertility

MeSH descriptors

Endometriosis Fertility Agents, Female Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Laparoscopy Pelvic Pain Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Female Fertility Agents, Female Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Humans Laparoscopy Pain Measurement Pelvic Pain Pelvic Pain Pelvic Pain Prognosis Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic

Citation neighborhood

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References (25)

Cited by (50)

Source provenance

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License: CC0 · commercial use OK