Coexisting Ovarian Endometriosis and Malignant Tumour: Report of Three Cases

Abstract

Several authors have studied the question of whether endometriosis can develop into cancer. S a m p s o n published an extensive study in 1925 containing a thorough description of seven cases and excellent pictures of endometriosis and tumour formation. He concluded that in his seven cases the carcinoma had either arisen in the endometrial tissue or had invaded it from another source. I n 4 of the cases, he said, the carcinoma could lie considered as having developed in the epithelial lining of a benign cyst of endometrial origin. In the other 3 S a m p s o n was convinced that the carcinoma had arisen in ovarian endometrial tissue which had not developed into an endometrial cyst.S a m p s o n listed the strict criteria necessary to prove that the endometrial tissue had hecome malignant. R. M e y e r (quoted by M i l l e r , 1937) made a careful study of S a m p s o n ' s cases and, like C o r n e r , H u and H e r t i g (1950), called into question whether more than one of them fulfilled these requirements. T e i l u m (1946) described a case of typical endometrial cyst in which the histological picture showed a transition from endometrial epithelium into a malignant growth. K u z m a (1947) described two cases in which adeno-acanthoma and ovarian endometriosis were associated. I n one case he was certain that there

Intestinal Endometriosis

“…It is worth mentioning that malignant metaplasia -or at least coincident malignant degeneration -has been observed in the dystopic endometrium in a few cases (JENKINSON & BROWN 1943, FREDRIKSSON 1953, MACAFEE & GREER 1960, FRIEBEL 1963.…”