Are Adenomyosis and Endometriosis Phenotypes of the Same Disease Process?

Marwan Habiba, Sun‐Wei Guo, Giuseppe Benagiano
Biomolecules · 2023 · vol. 14(1) , pp. 32 · doi:10.3390/biom14010032 · PMID:38254632 · W4390235207
review OA: gold CC0 ⤵ 8 in-corpus citations
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-07 ⓘ

This paper critically examines the hypothesis that adenomyosis and endometriosis are different phenotypes of a single disease, noting similarities, differences, and unanswered questions regarding their shared or distinct etiopathologies.

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Abstract

In recent literature reviews, we concluded that the possibility that endometrial molecular aberrations are the sole or a necessary determinant of endometriosis and the Tissue Injury and Repair (TIAR) theory are yet to be convincingly proven. Here, we critically examine the theory that adenomyosis and endometriosis represent different phenotypes of a single disease. A common etiopathology for adenomyosis and endometriosis has been suggested because both conditions entail the presence of endometrial tissue at locations other than the lining of the uterus. There are wide differences in reported disease incidence and prevalence and, consequently, in estimates of the coexistence of both conditions. There are some similarities but also differences in their clinical features and predisposing factors. Each condition has a range of subtypes. These differences alone pose the question of whether subtypes of endometriosis and adenomyosis have different etiopathologies, and, in turn, this raises the question of whether they all share a common etiology. It is debatable whether the recognized differences between the eutopic endometrium in adenomyosis and endometriosis compared to those in unaffected women are the cause or the effect of the disease. The finding of common mutations, particularly of KRAS, lend support to the notion of shared predisposing factors, but this alone is insufficient evidence of causation.

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Condition tags

mesh:D004715endometriosisadenomyosis

MeSH descriptors

Adenomyosis Adenomyosis Adenomyosis Adenomyosis Adenomyosis Adenomyosis Adenomyosis Adenomyosis Adenomyosis Adenomyosis Adenomyosis 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 (94)

Cited by (8)

Source provenance

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License: CC0 · commercial use OK