Endometriosis and Adenomyosis Global Perspectives Across the Lifespan Engin Oral Editor 123 Endometriosis and Adenomyosis Engin Oral Editor Endometriosis and Adenomyosis Global Perspectives Across the Lifespan Editor Engin Oral Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Bezmialem Vakif University Medical Faculty Istanbul, Turkey ISBN 978-3-030-97235-6 ISBN 978-3-030-97236-3 (eBook) https://doi.1007/978-3-030-97236-3 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022, corrected publication 2022 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and trans- mission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publica- tion does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland Foreword Every person in the world is likely to have their life touched in some way by endo- metriosis or adenomyosis, so wide ranging is the suffering of almost 200 million souls on our globe who currently endure the ravages of these diseases, for some, every single day of their lives.
This wonderful book, Endometriosis & Adenomyosis: Across the Lifespan – Global Aspects, is in every regard global. It is a global revela- tion of all that we know about endometriosis and adenomyosis – and much that we are yet to fully comprehend – and a global journey of an endometriosis/adenomyo- sis sufferer’s lifespan. This book is written by an author group that represents the giants of our globe in this field, and is skilfully crafted and weaved together by gifted editor Engin Oral for us to enjoy and to learn. Like you, I cannot wait to dive in.
Neil Johnson Professor of Reproductive Health, Robinson Research Institute Adelaide, SA, Australia Gynaecologist and REI Subspecialist, Auckland Gynaecology Group and Repromed, Auckland, New Zealand NZ Representative and Executive Board Member, ASPIRE Auckland, New Zealand Past President, World Endometriosis Society Vancouver, Canada The original version of this chapter was revised to reflect a correction to Dr Hanan Alsalem’s name which was misspelled in the initial publication as Hanan Amsalem. An erratum to this chapter can be found at https://doi.1007/978-3-030-97236-3_45 v Foreword Endometriosis as a disease has many faces. That might explain why it is called a chameleon. And once suspected or diagnosed, it is hard to estimate the extent of the disease; thus, it has been compared with an iceberg as a major part of the tumor is hiding under the surface.
Endometriosis is benign but infiltrating; even though infiltration rarely turns malignant, it is hormone dependent yet cannot be cured by hormones. Hypotheses of its origin are multifold, and treatment options are very limited. Unfortunately, the interval from onset of symptoms to diagnosis of endometriosis on average takes years which is by far too long and effectively means suffering of predominantly young women in the prime years of their lives. In association with underdiagnosing and under treatment are negative impacts on performance at work, school and university, sexual life, family relationship, and social activities.
Once diagnosed, the dilemma continues as medical treatment of endometriosis often interferes with family planning for couples because most hormonal therapies exert contraceptive effects, often requiring assisted reproductive technologies. This is particularly true as in most developed countries couples desiring a child are beyond their thirties, which adds another fertility-reducing factor to endometriosis. Following an often-unsuccessful medical treatment of endometriosis surgery remains the only choice for reducing pain and invasion into other organs. However, since the difficulty of surgery exponentially increases with the extent of the disease, severe stages of endometriosis and adenomyosis require experts not only for diag- nosis but also for treatment.
The editor of this textbook, Prof. Engin Oral, has dedicated part of his life to increase awareness, understanding, and cognizance of medical specialists as well as the public about problems related to endometriosis. He has successfully motivated a group of renowned experts in the field of endometriosis and adenomyosis to com- pile this up-to-date manual. The careful reader will find a comprehensive collection of chapters which in total cover the entire field and allows for a holistic view on endometriosis and adenomyosis.
vii viii Foreword This book provides valuable information for anyone interested in in-depth knowledge regarding all aspects associated with endometriosis, offering practical application for daily practice. Hans-Rudolf Tinneberg, MD, PhD Frauenklinik Nordwest Krankenhaus Frankfurt, Germany Foreword Endometriosis is among the most common gynecologic disorders associated with infertility and pelvic pain; therefore, it represents a major personal and public health concern. Pathogenesis of endometriosis and adenomyosis has puzzled researchers for more than a century and still remains one of the most enigmatic disorders in gynecology. In the last decade alone more than 5000 articles on endometriosis and adenomyosis appeared in the world scientific literature, many of them contradic- tory, reflecting our difficulties in deciphering this disorder.
More recently, the application of cellular and molecular biology techniques to the study of endometriosis allowed us to better understand the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of endometriosis and helped us to develop new therapeutic approaches. Major advances in the understanding of endometrial biology and simul- taneous advances in surgical instrumentation are critical elements fueling the endo- metriosis/adenomyosis renaissance. This book, edited by Professor Engin Oral, is designed to present both cellular and molecular aspects and clinical management of endometriosis and adenomyosis. It represents the culmination of the clinical experiences, basic research, and consen- sus opinions of experts in the field of endometriosis and adenomyosis.
A diverse group of internationally recognized experts have come together to provide a detailed discussion of various aspects of endometriosis and adenomyosis. I would like to express my gratitude to Professor Oral for asking me to write a foreword to this book. Our interaction began in 1994 as a mentor, but he became eventually a very valuable colleague and a friend. As one of the international experts in endometriosis and adenomyosis, he has been a leader in the field, bringing awareness of these diseases to the public in general.
I do hope that this book will serve women, their physicians, and investigators well in the ongoing battle against this enigmatic disease. Aydin Arici, MD Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences Yale University School of Medicine New Haven, CT, USA ix Preface Hello to all readers, I think I was introduced to endometriosis, also known as “chocolate cyst” dis- ease, while I was studying medicine at Istanbul Medical Faculty. At that time the name sounded a bit strange to me. Later, when I chose obstetrics and gynecology, we came across endometriosis patients at Istanbul University Cerrahpaşa Medical Faculty, but now when I look at it, little did we know about the disease itself.
Patients were coming, saying “I have pain” or “I can’t get pregnant,” and sometimes we gave medical treatment, but mostly we performed surgery. The person who made me realize this disease is my dear mentor from the USA, one of the foreword writers of this book, Prof. When I was accepted as a postdoctoral fellow to Yale University Obstetrics and Gynecology Department of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility in 1995, I realized that Prof. Arici was dealing mainly with endometriosis patients.
Thus, I joined his team and became acquainted with this disease. I never knew about the research aspect of the disease, but during my time at Yale, as a team, my friends and I, under the leadership of Aydın Arici and now deceased David Olive, conducted both research and clinical studies that had contributed to the literature. The first study we did was a clinical study, we looked at the effect of endometriosis on implantation, and when that study was accepted in the F&S journal, the head of the department at that time (Frederick Naftolin) and Aydın Arıcı sent me to the “Endometriosis 2000” meeting in May 1995, where important scientists were found. I attended this meeting with Aydın Arıcı.
At that time, I had the opportunity to meet important people dealing with this issue in the USA, and this motivated me even more. For the next 2 years, I dealt almost exclu- sively with this disease both in the laboratory and clinics. I watched surgeries at Yale, had the opportunity to watch in vitro fertilization cases, and in the laboratory, we worked on molecules such as growth factors, cytokines in endometriosis tissue samples, and cell cultures. When I returned to Turkey, my goal was to “provide bet- ter solutions to people suffering from this disease.” During this period, after becom- ing associate professor and professor, I had the chance to see many clinical cases at Istanbul University Cerrahpaşa Medical Faculty.
The years progressed rapidly, and in 2009, I decided to establish an association that provides academic education on this disease as well as increases the awareness of it among the public. In retrospect, this was truly one of the best things I’ve ever done. The association, which we estab- lished with 14 people, has now become a recognized and respected association not xi xii Preface only in Turkey but also throughout Europe and even worldwide. This is the 12th year of the association, and if they were asked in these 12 years “What did you work for the most? What did you spend most of your time on? My answer will probably be the Endometriosis and Adenomyosis Society.
With this association, we primarily aimed to increase the knowledge and training of doctors on this subject. In the fol- lowing years, we tried to increase the public’s knowledge and awareness of the disease. In 2012, we held the second meeting of the “Asian Endometriosis and Adenomyosis Association” in Istanbul. The first took place in China and the second in Turkey under my presidency.
Just 2 years later, in 2014, under my chairmanship, we held a meeting on deep endometriosis in Istanbul, where international experts gave lectures on both theoretical and surgical cases. In 2016, it was time to open our doors to Europe, and we were invited to Budapest for the meeting of the European Endometriosis Society, with the invitation of Dr. Tinneberg and Dr. Renner, found- ers of the “European Endometriosis Society.
Taner Usta, who I’ve been always proud of as mentor and who is the current president of the Endometriosis and Adenomyosis Society, Turkey, and has been with me since almost the founda- tion of the association, and I were elected to the board of directors. In 2018, I became the elected president of the European Endometriosis Society, and during this period, we organized the annual meetings of the European Endometriosis Society in Vienna and Prague. In 2019, I was selected as a senior ambassador of the World Endometriosis Association. In 2020, we faced COVID facts and we still have been struggling to live under pandemic.
As for the Endometriosis and Adenomyosis Association, we have mostly shifted our meetings online. Since the last 2 years, we have been having only online meetings, webinars, etc.