Endometriosis Surgery Linked to Lower Ovarian Cancer Risk

Both complete removal of lesions and removal of ovary correlate with lower risk

TUESDAY, April 16 (HealthDay News) -- Women who undergo surgical treatment for endometriosis have a significantly lower risk of developing ovarian cancer, according to a study published online April 8 in Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica.

Anna-Sofia Melin, Ph.D., from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, and colleagues analyzed the association between hormonal or surgical treatment of endometriosis and the risk of epithelial ovarian cancer in 220 Swedish women with endometriosis who developed ovarian cancer at least one year after the endometriosis diagnosis and 416 women with endometriosis and no ovarian cancer.

After multivariate adjustment, the researchers found a lower risk of ovarian cancer in women who had one-sided oophorectomy (odds ratio 0.19) and radical extirpation of all visible endometriosis (odds ratio 0.30). There was no significant association between hormonal treatment and ovarian cancer risk, according to the study.

"One-sided oophorectomy as well as radical extirpation of all visible endometriosis is protective against later development of ovarian cancer," Melin and colleagues conclude.

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