Women Diagnosed With Endometriosis Face Higher Cancer Risk Study Says
- Actress Amy Schumer, 43, experienced painful periods because of endometriosis, a chronic disease that causes pelvic pain and menstrual changes. She underwent surgery to help manage the chronic condition.
- A study published in the medical journal JAMA suggests women living with endometriosis are at higher risk of developing ovarian cancer.
- Ovarian cancer is often harder to catch in its early stages because of its subtle symptoms, such as bloating, weight gain, and abdominal pain, that can mimic regular menstrual cycle fluctuations.
- After ovarian cancer patients complete initial treatment, maintenance therapy may be recommended to try and delay possible recurrence.
- Maintenance therapy for ovarian cancer can involve taking an oral pill called a PARP inhibitor every day after chemotherapy and can keep cancer in remission longer. PARP inhibitors prevent cancer cells from repairing their DNA.
Comedian and actress Amy Schumer, 43, lives with endometriosis, a chronic disease that causes pelvic pain and menstrual changes. She’s been open about the challenges the condition has caused her. “Roughly 10% of reproductive age women and girls” are impacted by endometriosis, according to the World Health Organization, and now a recent study suggests this group faces a higher risk of ovarian cancer.
“Endometriosis is the term for whenever those endometrial cells, those lining of the uterus cells, are outside of their normal place, which is inside the uterus,” OB/GYN and oncologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Dr. Bobbie Rimel explains, adding that it is a benign condition.
Read MoreWATCH: Is There Screening for Ovarian Cancer
Annual pelvic exams and pap smears can screen for many different conditions, including STDs, pregnancy, various infections, and gynecological cancers of the cervix, uterus, fallopian tube, and vulva. If your gynecologist includes a rectovaginal exam, they can check and see how the ovaries feel, but a pelvic exam alone is not an effective screening mechanism for this kind of cancer.
Helping Patients Understand Treatment Options for Ovarian Cancer
Understanding and Coping With Ovarian Cancer
Ovarian cancer has been called the “cancer that whispers” because women often don’t experience symptoms until their cancer has already reached its late stages. The symptoms that do appear at first are hard to identify as cancer.
“Ovarian cancer does not have any specific symptoms,” Dr. Beth Karlan, a gynecologic oncologist at UCLA Medical Center, told SurvivorNet.
Many ovarian cancers begin in the fallopian tubes. A few cancerous cells first grow on the fallopian tubes. Then, as the fallopian tubes brush over the ovary, these cells stick to the ovaries and eventually form a tumor.
“The symptoms include things like feeling full earlier than you usually would when your appetite is strong and feeling bloated. Some changes in your bowel habits. Some pain in the pelvis. These are symptoms women may have every month. These are not very specific. But we’ve found this constellation of symptoms from multiple studies,” Dr. Karlan added.
The symptoms of ovarian cancer may include the following:
- A feeling of bloating or fullness
- Pain in the pelvis or abdomen
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Changes in bowel habits
How Ovarian Cancer is Treated
The standard of care for ovarian cancer patients is chemotherapy, which helps many patients reach remission.
Ovarian cancer recurrence happens in “almost 25 percent of cases with early-stage diseases and in more than 80 percent with more advanced stages,” according to research published in Gland Surgery medical journal. With recurrence a strong possibility for this disease, especially in the later stages of ovarian cancer, certain drug treatments to deal with it are giving many women hope.
RELATED: Dealing with recurrence.
WATCH: Treating ovarian cancer.
Ovarian cancer is sub-categorized into two groups.
- Platinum-Sensitive Ovarian Cancer: Cancer does not return for more than six months after treatment with platinum-based chemotherapies, like carboplatin and cisplatin.
- Platinum-Resistant Ovarian Cancer: Cancer returns within six months of treatment with platinum-based chemotherapies, like carboplatin and cisplatin.
“The mechanism that causes platinum resistance will cause someone to be resistant to other chemotherapies, as well. That’s why we’re looking for what we call targeted therapies — precision medicine,” Dr. Noelle Cloven from Texas Oncology-Fort Worth Cancer Center explained.
RELATED: Recurrent Ovarian Cancer Treatment Is Your Disease “Platinum-Sensitive”?
Targeted therapies or precision medicine specifically target the proteins controlling cancer cells’ growth, division, and spread.
Maintenance Therapy for Ovarian Cancer
Maintenance therapy is continued treatment after the patient finishes their initial treatment. After an ovarian cancer patient completes a round of treatments — such as surgery and chemotherapy — her doctor may recommend some form of maintenance therapy to try and delay possible recurrence. Maintenance therapy can involve taking an oral pill called a PARP inhibitor every day after chemotherapy and can keep cancer in remission longer.
How Schumer Copes With Endometriosis
Earlier this year, Schumer shared that she was diagnosed with endometriosis.
“[It’s] an autoimmune disease that every woman should read about,” Schumer wrote in an Instagram post about her diagnosis.
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Schumer, a mother of one, discussed her condition while addressing concerns about her appearance.
In 2021, Schumer underwent surgery removing 30 endometriosis lesions to help treat her diagnosis partly because she experienced “painful periods.”
“He removed my appendix because the endometriosis had attacked it. There was a lot of blood in my uterus, and I’m, you know, sore, and I have some, like, gas pains. But, other than that, I already feel that my energy is [returning],” Schumer explained.
“Like every other woman/person, some days I feel confident and good as well, and others I want to put a bag over my head. But I feel strong and beautiful and so proud,” Schumer added.
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