Calmon MS, Lemos FFB, Silva Luz M, Rocha Pinheiro SL, de Oliveira Silva LG, Correa Santos GL, Rocha GR, Freire de Melo F. Immune pathway through endometriosis to ovarian cancer. World J Clin Oncol 2024; 15(4): 496-522 [PMID: 38689629 DOI: 10.5306/wjco.v15.i4.496]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Fabrício Freire de Melo, PhD, Adjunct Professor, Instituto Multidisciplinar em Saúde, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Estrada do Bem Querer, No. 3293-3391- Candeias, Vitória da Conquista 45029-094, Bahia, Brazil. freiremeloufba@gmail.com
Research Domain of This Article
Oncology
Article-Type of This Article
Review
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Clin Oncol. Apr 24, 2024; 15(4): 496-522 Published online Apr 24, 2024. doi: 10.5306/wjco.v15.i4.496
Immune pathway through endometriosis to ovarian cancer
Fabrício Freire de Melo, Gabriel Reis Rocha, Gabriel Lima Correa Santos, Luis Guilherme de Oliveira Silva, Samuel Luca Rocha Pinheiro, Marcel Silva Luz, Fabian Fellipe Bueno Lemos, Mariana Santos Calmon
Mariana Santos Calmon, Fabian Fellipe Bueno Lemos, Marcel Silva Luz, Samuel Luca Rocha Pinheiro, Luis Guilherme de Oliveira Silva, Gabriel Lima Correa Santos, Gabriel Reis Rocha, Fabrício Freire de Melo, Instituto Multidisciplinar em Saúde, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Vitória da Conquista 45029-094, Bahia, Brazil
Author contributions: Calmon MS, Lemos FFB and Freire de Melo F contributed to the conceptualization of the manuscript; Calmon MS, Lemos FFB, Silva Luz M, Rocha GR, Correa Santos GL, Silva LGO, Pinheiro SLR, and Freire de Melo F contributed to the manuscript writing; Calmon MS, Lemos FFB, Silva Luz M, Rocha GR, Correa Santos GL, Silva LGO, and Pinheiro SLR wrote the original draft; Calmon MS, Lemos FFB and Freire de Melo F were responsible for manuscript review; Calmon MS, Lemos FFB and Freire de Melo F were responsible for images creation and design; and Freire de Melo F supervised the writing of the original draft.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this manuscript.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Fabrício Freire de Melo, PhD, Adjunct Professor, Instituto Multidisciplinar em Saúde, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Estrada do Bem Querer, No. 3293-3391- Candeias, Vitória da Conquista 45029-094, Bahia, Brazil. freiremeloufba@gmail.com
Received: December 15, 2023 Peer-review started: December 15, 2023 First decision: January 15, 2024 Revised: January 29, 2024 Accepted: March 18, 2024 Article in press: March 18, 2024 Published online: April 24, 2024 Processing time: 128 Days and 10.1 Hours
Abstract
Endometriosis is an estrogen-dependent inflammatory disease, defined by the presence of functional endometrial tissue outside of the uterine cavity. This disease is one of the main gynecological diseases, affecting around 10%-15% women and girls of reproductive age, being a common gynecologic disorder. Although endometriosis is a benign disease, it shares several characteristics with invasive cancer. Studies support that it has been linked with an increased chance of developing endometrial ovarian cancer, representing an earlier stage of neoplastic processes. This is particularly true for women with clear cell carcinoma, low-grade serous carcinoma and endometrioid. However, the carcinogenic pathways between both pathologies remain poorly understood. Current studies suggest a connection between endometriosis and endometriosis-associated ovarian cancers (EAOCs) via pathways associated with oxidative stress, inflammation, and hyperestrogenism. This article aims to review current data on the molecular events linked to the development of EAOCs from endometriosis, specifically focusing on the complex relationship between the immune response to endometriosis and cancer, including the molecular mechanisms and their ramifications. Examining recent developments in immunotherapy and their potential to boost the effectiveness of future treatments.
Core Tip: Current investigations imply a relationship between endometriosis and endometriosis-associated ovarian cancers (EAOCs) through pathways involving oxidative stress, inflammation, and hyperestrogenism. This article endeavors to examine the current data on the molecular events associated with the development of EAOCs from endometriosis, with a particular emphasis on the intricate relationship between the immune response to endometriosis and cancer, including the molecular mechanisms and their implications.
