Human Reproduction vol.13 no.6 pp.1686–1690, 1998 Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in endometriosis

1To whom correspondence should be addressed Angiogenesis is likely to be involved in the pathogenesis of endometriosis. According to the transplantation theory, when the exfoliated endometrium is attached to the periton-eal layer, the establishment of a new blood supply is essential for the survival of the endometrial implant and development of endometriosis. From the known angiogenic factors, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has emerged as a pivotally important regulator of normal angiogenesis and pathological neovascularization. The VEGF protein was evaluated immunohistochemically in the eutopic endometrium of 10 women without endometriosis (group I) at laparoscopy and the eutopic endometrium and peritoneal endometriotic lesions of 43 women with endometriosis (group II). VEGF histological scores were