“…We, and others, however, have recently demonstrated markedly high levels of aromatase P450 mRNA and activity in pelvic endometriotic implants (Noble et al 1996, 1997, Kitawaki et al 1997. Moreover, prostaglandin (PG)E 2 , which is produced in very high levels in endometriotic tissues, was found to be the most potent inducer of aromatase activity in endometriosisderived stromal cells (Badawy et al 1984, De Leon et al 1988, Karck et al 1996, Noble et al 1996, 1997. The production of PGE 2 in eutopic endometrial stromal cells, in turn, was demonstrated to be greatly stimulated by cytokines and estradiol-17β via enhancement of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression (Ishihara et al1995, Kennard et al 1995, Huang et al 1996.…”