Progestins and combined oral contraceptives in the hormonal treatment of endometriosis – a review

Kornelia Rojek
In: European Journal of Clinical and Experimental Medicine · 2023 · vol. 21(2) , pp. 397–404 · doi:10.15584/ejcem.2023.2.21 · W4382727263
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-08 ⓘ

This review of 67 articles examined the effectiveness and side effects of progestins and combined oral contraceptives for endometriosis, finding they reduce pain but carry potential risks.

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⚙ AI-generated deep summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-09 · read from full text ⓘ

This paper is a literature review that used PubMed to identify and synthesize 67 articles on how progestins and combined oral contraceptives affect effectiveness and side effects in the hormonal treatment of endometriosis. It reports that these hormonal therapies significantly reduce dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, and pelvic pain in women with endometriosis. The review emphasizes that potential adverse effects must be considered, and it highlights a limitation typical of narrative reviews: it does not provide patient-level comparative outcomes beyond the aggregated literature. This paper is centrally about endometriosis — it reviews progestins and combined oral contraceptives for symptom control and safety in endometriosis.

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Abstract

Introduction and aim. Endometriosis is a common inflammatory disease affecting 6-10% of women of reproductive age. It is defined as the growth of endometrial-like tissue outside the uterine cavity. Dysmenorrhea, pelvic pain, dyspareunia and infertility are the main symptoms of endometriosis patients. Endometriosis treatment methods can be broadly divided into surgical and pharmacological. Currently, hormonal drugs are often used for women with endometriosis to relieve bothersome symptoms. The aim of this article is to review new publications presenting the effectiveness as well as side effects of the use of progestins and combined oral contraceptives in the hormonal treatment of endometriosis. Material and methods. A review of the literature regarding progestins and combined oral contraceptives in the treatment of endometriosis was performed using the PubMed database. In the end, 67 articles were included in this review. Analysis of the literature. Progestins and combined oral contraceptives significantly reduce dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia and pelvic pain in women with endometriosis. However, there is a risk of potential side effects, which should be taken into account when choosing a therapy for each patient individually. Conclusion. Endometriosis is a chronic disease that has a significant impact on the health-related quality of life of patients. When choosing a treatment, many aspects should be considered, primarily the patient’s preferences, drug tolerance and safety. Further drug research is needed to determine the most effective treatment for endometriosis.
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Introduction

and aim. Endometriosis is a common inflammatory disease affecting 6-10% of women of reproductive age. It is defined as the growth of endometrial-like tissue outside the uterine cavity. Dysmenorrhea, pelvic pain, dyspareunia and infertility are the main symptoms of endometriosis patients. Endometriosis treatment methods can be broadly divided into surgical and pharmacological. Currently, hormonal drugs are often used for women with endometriosis to relieve bothersome symptoms. The aim of this article is to review new publications presenting the effectiveness as well as side effects of the use of progestins and combined oral contraceptives in the hormonal treatment of endometriosis.

Material

and methods. A review of the literature regarding progestins and combined oral contraceptives in the treatment of endometriosis was performed using the PubMed database. In the end, 67 articles were included in this review. Analysis of the literature. Progestins and combined oral contraceptives significantly reduce dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia and pelvic pain in women with endometriosis. However, there is a risk of potential side effects, which should be taken into account when choosing a therapy for each patient individually. Conclusion. Endometriosis is a chronic disease that has a significant impact on the health-related quality of life of patients. When choosing a treatment, many aspects should be considered, primarily the patient’s preferences, drug tolerance and safety. Further drug research is needed to determine the most effective treatment for endometriosis. Opis Słowa kluczowe combined oral contraceptives, endometriosis, health-related quality of life, infertility, pelvic pain, progestins Cytowanie European Journal of Clinical and Experimental Medicine T. 21, z. 2 (2023), s. 397-404

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Condition tags

endometriosisdysmenorrheadyspareuniainfertility

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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