Researchers from the University of Queensland in Australia conducted a large-scale analysis that that looked at the genomes of 15,000 women with endometriosis and 25,000 with ovarian cancer to determi
ne if there was any overlap in risk factors between the two diseases. They published their findings in the journalThe researchers identified 28 distinct genetic markers that contributed to the risk of both endometriosis and ovarian cancer.
For those with endometriosis, researchers found that the chances of developing ovarian cancer is up to 2.6 times higher. However, given the rarity of ovarian cancer, Mortlock says the risk is still not substantially increased for those with endometriosis. found that women with surgically diagnosed endometriosis were 1.7 times more likely to develop ovarian cancer, but they noted that it remained unclear how many people have endometriosis due to a lack of diagnoses.