Peculiar Aspects of Endometriosis in Adolescents

Abstract

Although documented rates of endometriosis in adolescent patients undergoing laparoscopy for chronic pelvic pain range from about 25% to 45%, adolescent endometriosis has received limited attention in terms of research activity and follow-up studies. In this manuscript, distinctive characteristics of adolescent and young endometriosis have been considered in order to define pathogenetic and scientific concepts that might be useful in clarifying some aspects of the adult disease as well. Some highlights relative to the cellular origin of the disease can be derived from reported cases before menarche, from the appearance of endometriotic lesions in teenagers (mostly stage I-II endometriosis), and from the relative infrequency of ovarian endometriotic cysts in this population. Adolescents and young patients might be also particularly useful for studying the natural course of the disease. To this end, clinical manifestations and recurrence patterns of the disease in adolescent patients need to be elucidated. Differences in clinical aspects of the disease between the adult and young populations are presented. Risk of recurrence and potential risk factors involved in the reappearance of the disease in teenagers are completely unknown. (Journal of Endometriosis 2010; 2: 19–25)