Women who have endometriosis also seem to have an increased risk of ovarian cancer and some other cancers.

Endometriosis is a painful condition where tissue from inside the uterus migrates to other parts of the pelvic cavity. It may lead to infertility and, as a new study shows, it is also linked to a small increase in the risk of certain cancers.

Researchers in Sweden looked at a group of nearly 65,000 women diagnosed with endometriosis and also took data from the National Swedish Cancer Registry. This showed that women with endometriosis were slightly more likely to develop ovarian cancer, brain tumors, endocrine tumors, and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. But they were less likely to get cervical cancer.

These findings should not panic women with endometriosis, the researchers warn. The absolute extra numbers of cancer cases linked to endometriosis is actually very small. And we don't know that endometriosis causes these cancers. But the association is certainly worthy of further investigation.

Source

European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology Meeting 2nd July 2003