Treatment of severe recurrent endometriosis with an aromatase inhibitor in a young ovariectomised woman.

摘要

Endometriosis is a chronic and progressive diseasemanifested by chronic pelvic pain and infertility and whichmay affect 2–10% of women of reproductive age. Becauseit is an oestrogen-dependent disease, the goal of currentmedical therapy is to induce hypoestrogenism or to antagoniseoestrogen action.Oestrogen biosynthesis in women of reproductive agetakes place primarily in the ovary, while after spontaneousor surgical menopause, the adipose tissue and adrenal glandsare the main source.1 Aromatase P450 catalyses the conversionof androstenedione of adrenal origin to oestrogens,endometriotic tissues express it2–4 and prostaglandins arethe most potent known aromatase stimulator in endometrioticstromal cells.