Role of Endometriosis in Cancer and Tumor Development

Lillian Marie Swiersz
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 2002 · vol. 955(1) , pp. 281–292 · doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.2002.tb02788.x · PMID:11949955 · W2052572643
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This paper reviews endometriosis's shared characteristics with cancer, discusses gene mutations implicated in its progression to ovarian carcinoma, and highlights evidence suggesting endometriosis may increase the risk of other cancers.

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Abstract

Endometriosis, like cancer, is characterized by cell invasion and unrestrained growth. Furthermore, endometriosis and cancer are similar in other aspects, such as the development of new blood vessels and a decrease in the number of cells undergoing apoptosis. In spite of these similarities, endometriosis is not considered a malignant disorder. The possibility that endometriosis could, however, transform and become cancer has been debated in the literature since 1925. Mutations in the genes that encode for metabolic and detoxification enzymes, such as GALT and GSTM, have been implicated in the pathogenesis of endometriosis and in the progression to carcinoma of the ovary. PTEN, a tumor suppressor commonly mutated (50%) in endometrial carcinoma, is found mutated in endometrioid carcinoma of the ovary, but not in other forms of ovarian cancer. A recent study has shown that somatic mutations in the PTEN gene were identified in 20% of endometrioid carcinomas and 20.6% of solitary endometrial cysts, suggesting that inactivation of the PTEN tumor suppressor gene is an early event in the development of ovarian endometrioid carcinoma. In addition to cancerous transformation at the site of endometriosis, there is recent evidence to indicate that having endometriosis itself may increase a woman's risk of developing non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, malignant melanoma, and breast cancer.

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Condition tags

mesh:D004715endometriosis

MeSH descriptors

Breast Neoplasms Endometriosis Melanoma Ovarian Neoplasms Breast Neoplasms Breast Neoplasms Breast Neoplasms Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Female Humans Melanoma Melanoma Melanoma Mutation Ovarian Neoplasms Ovarian Neoplasms Ovarian Neoplasms

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.

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Cited by (50)

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