Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2024 Apr 25:14:1381244.
doi: 10.3389/fonc.2024.1381244. eCollection 2024.

Research progress in endometriosis-associated ovarian cancer

Ling Tang  1 , Ce Bian  1
Affiliations
Review

Research progress in endometriosis-associated ovarian cancer

Ling Tang et al. Front Oncol. .

Abstract

Endometriosis-associated ovarian cancer (EAOC) is a unique subtype of ovarian malignant tumor originating from endometriosis (EMS) malignant transformation, which has gradually become one of the hot topics in clinical and basic research in recent years. According to clinicopathological and epidemiological findings, precancerous lesions of ovarian clear cell carcinoma (OCCC) and ovarian endometrioid carcinoma (OEC) are considered as EMS. Given the large number of patients with endometriosis and its long time window for malignant transformation, sufficient attention should be paid to EAOC. At present, the pathogenesis of EAOC has not been clarified, no reliable biomarkers have been found in the diagnosis, and there is still a lack of basis and targets for stratified management and precise treatment in the treatment. At the same time, due to the long medical history of patients, the fast growth rate of cancer cells, and the possibility of eliminating the earliest endometriosis-associated ovarian cancer, it is difficult to find the corresponding histological evidence. As a result, few patients are finally diagnosed with EAOC, which increases the difficulty of in-depth study of EAOC. This article reviews the epidemiology, pathogenesis, risk factors, clinical diagnosis, new treatment strategies and prognosis of endometriosis-associated ovarian cancer, and prospects the future direction of basic research and clinical transformation, in order to achieve stratified management and personalized treatment of ovarian cancer patients.

Keywords: diagnosis; endometriosis; endometriosis-associated ovarian cancer; ovarian neoplasms; risk factors.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
EMT Malignant Transformation - Iron Related Oxidative Stress. hemoglobin (HB), haptoglobin (HP), heme-binding glycoprotein (Hx), heme oxygenase-1 (OH-1), reactive oxygen species (ROS), carbon monoxide (CO), low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 (CD91), macrophage-specific protein (CD163), superoxide (O2−), perhydroxy (HO2−).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Taylor HS, Kotlyar AM, Flores VA. Endometriosis is a chronic systemic disease: clinical challenges and novel innovations. Lancet. (2021) 397:839–52. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00389-5 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Brunty S, Mitchell B, Bou-Zgheib N, Santanam N. Endometriosis and ovarian cancer risk, an epigenetic connection. Ann Transl Med. (2020) 8:1715. doi: 10.21037/atm-20-2449 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Sampson JA. Endometrial carcinoma of the ovary, arising in endometrial tissue in that organ. Arch Surg. (1925) 10:1–72. doi: 10.1001/archsurg.1925.01120100007001 - DOI
    1. Scott R. Malignant change in endometriosis. Obstet Gynecol. (1953) 2:293–9. - PubMed
    1. Bassiouny D, El-Baz MA, Gamil TM, Shams N, Ismiil N, Dubé V, et al. . Endometriosis-associated ovarian cancer is a subset with a more favorable outcome and distinct clinical-pathologic characteristics. Int J Gynecol Pathol. (2019) 38:435–42. doi: 10.1097/PGP.0000000000000533 - DOI - PubMed