It is well known that certain aspects of endometriosis are similar to those
of malignant disease. For example, like cancer, endometriosis can be both
locally and distantly metastatic; it attaches to other tissues, invades, an
d damages them. Endometriosis is a common disease that does not create a ca
chectic or catabolic state, and is ra rely fatal. There are, however, numer
ous reported cases of malignancy arising from endometriotic deposits and su
bstantial histologic evidence that endometriosis is associated with endomet
rioid carcinoma and clear cell carcinoma of the ovary. A large review artic
le by Mostoufizadeh and Scully investigated the association between endomet
riosis and endometrioid carcinoma, noting that women who had both diseases
tended to be younger [1]. They found no association between endometriosis a
nd serous or mucinous carcinoma of the ovary, and reported that malignant t
ransformation of endometriosis was rare and associated with the use of exog
enous estrogens. An epidemiological study of Swedish women reported a highe
r incidence of breast and ovarian cancer and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in wome
n with endometriosis compared with controls [2]. Vercellini and colleagues
also reported a higher incidence of endometrioid and clear cell carcinoma i
n women with endometriosis compared with controls [3]. Mutations in genes a
ssociated with galactose metabolism have been identified as one possible me
chanism for this association. These mutations are more common in ovarian ca
ncer and have been reported to be more common in women with endometriosis.
We compared 78 women with endometriosis with 248 controls and were unable t
o demonstrate an increased frequency of these mutations in any of these gro
ups. Copyright (C) 2000 S.Karger AG, Basel.