title: Introduction: A focus on the medical management of endometriosis.
abstract: In this views and reviews series of articles, we focus on the long-term medical management of endometriosis in lieu of surgery. The development of noninvasive biomarkers will facilitate the early diagnosis of endometriosis and early medical management. We discuss the use of oral progestin-only as first line treatment in place of oral contraceptives. Future medical treatments may be curative rather than simply suppressive or palliative. The section on surgery mainly pertains to failed medical management or specific types of endometriosis which require surgical excision.
authors.affiliation: Division of Reproductive Sciences, University of Toronto, Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital; and TRIO Fertility, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address: casper@lunenfeld.ca.
authors.forename: Robert F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Casper
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D003278:Contraceptives, Oral, Hormonal / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004715:Endometriosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism / Q000628:therapy*; D004717:Endometrium / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D007987:Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone / Q000819:agonists / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011372:Progestins / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011379:Prognosis
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D003278:Contraceptives, Oral, Hormonal; D011372:Progestins; D007987:Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone
keywords: Endometriosis; GnRH-agonists; biomarkers; progestins; surgery