RESOLUTION OF FUNCTIONAL OVARIAN CYSTS - TREATMENT WITH ORAL-CONTRACEPTIVES OR GESTAGENS HAS NO ADDITIONAL EFFECT

To investigte the need for hormonal treatment in patients with functio nal ovarian cysts (FOG), the efficacy of this treatment was evaluated in a retrospective and also in a randomised prospective study. By retr ospective analyses the resolution of FOC with a mean diameter larger t han 2.0 cm at the beginning of a cycle was determined in 113 patients (31.6+/-4.6 years). Fifty-seven women received an oral contraceptive ( ethinylestradiol 50 mu g/d for 7 days, ethinylestradiol 50 mu g and de sogestrel 125 mu g/d for 15 days), the others had no therapy. In a sec ond study 59 patients (32.3+/-4.6 years) were randomised to receive a combination of ethinylestradiol 50 mu g and levonorgestrel 250 mu g/d for 21 days (Group 1, n = 24), or lynestrenol 10 mg/d continuously (Gr oup 2, n = 14) or a third group (Group 3, n = 21) without treatment. I n both studies no differences were found between those patients who ha d hormonal treatment and those who had not. The prospective study reve aled that spontaneously appearing FOC and FOC evolving after ovulation induction during the cycle prior to study enrolment, resolved equally well within 12 weeks independent of contraceptive or gestagen treatme nt. FOC persisted in only one woman (group 2) who had a surgically pro ven endometrioma. In conclusion, hormonal treatment does not produce r egression of FOC in women of reproductive age.