Endometriosis-associated cancer

Abstract

Endometriosis will affect about 10% of the female population and not only can it significantly impact adversely on quality of life and result in infertility, but data are accumulating that malignant transformation is an important consideration. Endometriosis can be histologically typical or atypical, ovarian, superficial peritoneal or deep infiltrating. The precursor for malignant transformation appears to be the ovarian atypical endometriosis component. Ovarian cancer is the most important associated cancer, primarily endometrioid and clear cell cancer. These are the only subtypes wherein a direct clonal relationship between endometriosis, as a direct precursor, and cancer has been made. There is no substantive evidence to support an altered association of borderline cancers of the ovary, serous ovarian cancers and breast, endometrial or cervical cancers. This review provides an overview of the prevailing data pertaining to the molecular and genetic aberrations that accompany the transformation of atypical endometriosis to malignancy and the accumulated epidemiologic evidence which supports the association.

子宫内膜异位症相关癌症 摘要

子宫内膜异位症影响约10%的女性, 它不仅会对生活质量产生严重不良影响并导致不孕, 而且越来越多的数据表明恶性转化是一个重要的考虑因素。子宫内膜异位症在组织学上可以是典型的或非典型的, 卵巢、腹膜浅表或深层均可浸润。恶性转化的前兆似乎是卵巢非典型子宫内膜异位。卵巢癌是子宫内膜异位症最重要的相关癌症, 主要是子宫内膜样癌和透明细胞癌。这些是唯一在子宫内膜异位症（作为直接前体）和癌症之间建立直接克隆关系的亚型。目前没有证据表明交界性卵巢癌、浆液性卵巢癌和乳腺癌、子宫内膜癌或宫颈癌之间的关系发生了改变。本综述概述了与非典型子宫内膜异位症转变为恶性肿瘤相关的分子和遗传改变的主要数据以及流行病学证据。

Keywords:

• Endometriosis-associated cancers
• transformation atypical endometriosis
• endometrioid
• clear cell ovarian cancer
• borderline ovarian cancer
• invasive serous ovarian cancer
• breast cancer
• endometrium
• cervical cancer

Potential conflict of interest

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Source of funding

Nil.