The basement membrane in endometriosis.
Disruption of the BM can be found in metastasizing neoplasms. It has been suggested that also in some patients with endometriosis the BM is lacking, depending on the severity of disease. Thus studying the aspect of the BM would enable characterization of the disease and possibly have a prognostic value with respect to (medical) treatment. We studied the aspect of the BM in 16 patients with endometriosis, 4 in each of the stages of the rAFS classification, and demonstrated all endometriosis lesions in all patients to be surrounded by a continuous and intact BM. We conclude that studying the BM in endometriosis offers no advantage in determining the prognosis of the disease and its possible response to therapy.
D001485:Basement Membrane / Q000473:pathology*; D004715:Endometriosis / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007158:Immunologic Techniques; D066298:In Vitro Techniques