Simpson s theory brought up suggestions that other similarities existed between endometriosis and cancer besides the manner of transport of cells through the body. Yet both conditions differ significantly in manner and influence of growth, and in their effect on the host organs. The confusion begins, then, with the actual attributes of the two conditions.
When cancer Cells find a host organ, the disease can consume the organ to which it has attached itself Endometriosis on the other hand, is most often symbiotic. It exists on its own terms while using the host organ as a nesting place. Endometriotic cells will not devour host organs. Rather, endometriosis recalls the properties of a high-density glue: organs can literally become stuck together. “Kissing ovaries” is a picturesque description of an extreme case of endometriosis. The ovaries adhere to each other and also fix themselves to the posterior cui-de-sac.
Endometriosis apparently depends on the process of menstruation and implicates prostaglandin levels and ovarian function. Estrogen, viruses, and numerous other variable factors have been identified in the onset of cancers of the female reproductive tract.
The growth pattern of each disease contributes the third key difference between them. Endometriosis, in most cases, spreads rapidly, and will lead to a buildup of cysts or masses in the pelvis. Because it grows rapidly, it is often associated with extreme pain. The size of an endometriotic lesion does not determine how much pain a woman will feel; as we observed, microscopic endometrial implants on or near nerve endings can cause greater pain than much larger growths. In contrast, most uterine cancers, or cancers of the female reproductive tract, will grow slowly and therefore cause little or no pain. This is often why cancer is difficult to diagnose. Cancer, obviously, can be life-threatening, but endometriosis, on the Other hand, is rarely fatal.
Sampson’s theory and the laboratory experiments with rhesus monkeys introduced a second important hypothesis on the cause of endometriosis: its link with immune system function, or dysfunction. More specifically, scientists asked, how different are the immune systems of women with endometriosis as compared with those of women who are tree of the disease?
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