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Updated: Aug 29, 2026
Mouse Model of Surgically-induced Endometriosis by Auto-transplantation of Uterine Tissue
Published on: January 6, 2012
Analysis of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression in different sites of endometriosis and correlation with
Anna Fagotti1, Gabriella Ferrandina, Francesco Fanfani
1Department of Gynecological Oncology, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Campobasso, Italy.
Background:
Recent studies have demonstrated the overexpression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in endometriosis. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of COX-2 in different anatomical sites of endometriosis and its association with clinico-pathological parameters in a single institutional series of patients undergoing operative treatment.
Methods:
COX-2 expression was analysed by immunohistochemistry in 136 samples of endometriotic tissue from 103 patients affected by endometriosis.
Results:
COX-2 immunoreaction was observed in 78.5% of ovarian endometriotic cysts, in 11.1% of peritoneal implants and 13.3% of recto-vaginal nodules. COX-2 positivity was not distributed differently according to age, pre-operative serum levels of CA125 and AFS score. Moreover, COX-2 positivity did not show any significant variation according to the subjective intensity of pain, as dysmenorrhoea, chronic pelvic pain, lower urinary tract or gastrointestinal symptoms, or according to infertility.
Conclusions:
Increased COX-2 expression in the endometriotic ovarian cyst wall was observed with respect to other extraovarian localizations. No relevant correlations between COX-2 positivity and clinico-pathological characteristics and symptoms of patients were observed.
