9 Endometriosis: Medical therapy

Mary Wingfield, M Wingfield, David Healy, D L Healy, Healy DL
Bailliere's clinical obstetrics and gynaecology · 1993 · vol. 7(4) , pp. 813–838 · doi:10.1016/s0950-3552(05)80465-1 · PMID:8131317 · W1991434189
review OA: closed CC0 ⤵ 33 in-corpus citations
View on OpenAlex View on PubMed View at publisher
⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-08 ⓘ

This paper reviews current medical therapies for endometriosis, focusing on hormonal treatments and pain management strategies.

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

Abstract

The management of women with endometriosis is complex and necessitates individualization of patient care. The most commonly used medical therapies are danazol, GnRH agonists, medroxyprogesterone acetate and gestrinone. Studies to date have shown these drugs to have equal efficacy in terms of reduction in laparoscopic score and relief of symptoms. However, their side-effects make them unsuitable for long-term use. The addition of low dose hormone replacement therapy to GnRH agonist regimens may allow prolonged use but the current cost of these agents is high. Low dose oral contraceptive pills deserve further investigation. The role of medical treatment for women with endometriosis and infertility is controversial. There is no place for hormonal therapy in such women with stage I or II disease. When expectant management fails, gamete intrafallopian transfer offers excellent results. For those with stage III or IV disease, surgery is preferable with adjunctive medical therapy in selected cases. If pregnancy does not ensue, in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer are the next line of management, and results are optimized by prior medical therapy and aspiration of endometriomas. Major advances have been made in the medical management of endometriosis. However, current treatment strategies are ineffective in eliminating the disease in most women. New approaches are required in both basic and clinical research in order to finally eradicate this often devastating disease.

My notes (saved in your browser only)

Condition tags

endometriosischronic_pelvic_pain

MeSH descriptors

Endometriosis Danazol Danazol Danazol Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Estrogens Estrogens Estrogens Female Gestrinone Gestrinone Gestrinone Goserelin Goserelin Goserelin Humans Infertility, Female

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 (100)

Cited by (33)

Source provenance

europepmc
last seen: 2026-07-29T06:27:48.050232+00:00
openalex
last seen: 2026-06-10T17:14:06.276822+00:00
pubmed
last seen: 2026-05-13T22:11:34.315996+00:00
License: CC0 · commercial use OK