Tubal Endometriosis: From Bench to Bedside, A Scoping Review

Abstract

Tubal endometriosis (EM) refers to the detection of ectopic endometrial implants on tubes. It may cause a significant defect of the tubes, translating into dysmenorrhea, pelvic pain, and infertility. We aimed to evaluate the disease characteristics, prevalence, histopathological findings and genetic profile of patients with tubal EM. A thorough search of three electronic databases was performed for studies that presented outcomes of patients with tubal EM. Thirteen studies (four observational, seven case reports, two genetic) were considered eligible for inclusion. The prevalence of tubal EM ranged from 6.9% to 69%. The predominant symptoms for referral of patients were infertility and abdominal pain. Women of reproductive age underwent salpingectomy for the management of the disease. Only one case of malignant transformation was recorded in a 60-year-old patient. The prevalence of tubal EM ranges depending on the indication for surgery, the presence of concomitant pelvic EM and the type of diagnosis and treatment. Further, more extensive, larger studies are warranted to evaluate the impact of tubal EM in the progression and prognosis of EM, the effect of salpingectomy in the improvement of disease-related symptoms and to designate the group of patients that could benefit from risk-reducing salpingectomy based on the risk of developing ovarian malignancy.

Tubal Pathologies and Fertility Outcomes: A Review

“…Patients with tubal endometriosis may experience pelvic pain, but there is no clear association between the severity of symptoms and the stage of the disease according to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine classification [ 54 ]. Tubal endometriosis is associated with advanced stages of the disease [ 55 ] and is strongly linked to infertility [ 56 ]. Besides causing scarring on the tubes, which makes natural pregnancy unlikely, endometriosis also leads to inflammation in the pelvis.…”