Endometriosis may increase one’s risk of developing ovarian cancer by more than fourfold, researchers found in a study published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Endometriosis occurs when tissues lining the inside of the uterus also start growing outside the uterus. This tissue thickens, breaks down, and bleeds with each menstrual cycle.
But having no way to leave the body, the blood becomes trapped, potentially causing painful periods, heavy bleeding, abdominal pain, and even infertility. However, patients with Type 1 tend to have favorable outcomes with a five-year survival rate of over 90 percent. In ovarian endometrioma, tissue growth causes blood to fill cysts inside the ovaries.
Deep-infiltrating endometriosis occurs when there is a significant amount of tissue growth and scarring outside the uterus. Researchers found that women with ovarian endometriomas and deep-infiltrating endometriosis, which indicate moderate to severe endometriosis, are the most strongly linked to ovarian cancer. Women with either condition have more than a 19-fold risk of developing Type 1 ovarian cancer.
Dr. Peterson said these two types are rarer forms of endometriosis, and most women have milder, superficial growths instead. He described the dispersal of these superficial growths as looking like “me having some paint on my hand and just flicking it at a wall.
” Not all patients will develop severe endometriosis, as some may live their whole lives witho.
