Fertility Preservation in Patients with Endometrioma

The ultimate goals of endometriosis research are better diagnostics, especially for early stage and mild disease, and effective medical therapies that cure the disease. New candidate targets for diagnostics and therapeutics are most likely to be identified from fundamental research into the pathophysiology of endometriosis. Progress in these endeavors will depend on funding and the ability of researchers to maximize resources through collaboration and multidisciplinary approaches. Medical treatments undergoing investigation include progesterone and estrogen receptor modulators, statins, aromatase inhibitors, antiangiogenic agents, and immune modulators such as anti-tumor necrosis factor-α. None of these medical treatments is yet able to supplant surgical excision of endometriotic lesions as the gold standard for treatment. Despite the impediments to endometriosis research that include variable symptoms, multiple genetic and environmental causative influences and a lack of good experimental models, significant progress is being made in improving understanding of basic disease mechanisms, and in new approaches to diagnosis and treatment.