The Link Between Endometriosis & Cancer

Posted on May 20, 2020May 20, 2020 by Andrew Orr

One of the most common questions that I get asked from women with endometriosis is “Is there a link between endometriosis and cancer?”

There has been many research papers on this and there is some evidence to suggest that women with endometriosis may have a higher risk of certain cancers such as endometrial cancer and also ovarian cancer.

We all know that Endometriosis is a debilitating disease, but many people don’t realise the possible future implications of this disease, mixed with our highly inflammatory diets and lifestyle. Unfortunately it is a recipe for any inflammatory disease, and for expression of cancer cells.

There have been many reputable studies to date showing the link between inflammation and cancer and endometriosis is definitely an inflammatory disease that needs proper management otherwise some studies are now suggesting it could be a precursor to certain cancers.

This isn’t meant to scare anyone either. It is just to help people realise the possible implications of this disease and to be more proactive around getting yourself and your body healthier and also being properly managed by a qualified health professional. When it come to cancerous states, prevention is key and early intervention is also.

Better education is needed

Given that, we need to really take this disease more seriously than many people with the disease and many in the medical community probably realise. Prevention is always the key to any disease and even though endometriosis cannot be prevented, early intervention and ongoing management of the disease is crucial. This is why I think all young girls should be educated about what a proper menstrual cycle should be like and that period pain is not normal. There also needs to be proper education about diet and lifestyle interventions with inflammatory diseases, such as endometriosis, and how it also needs a multimodality approach to be managed properly.

Endometriosis is like cancer in many ways

Endometriosis, like cancer, is characterised by cell invasion and unrestrained growth. Furthermore, endometriosis and cancer are similar in other aspects, such as the development of new blood vessels and a decrease in the number of cells undergoing apoptosis. In spite of these similarities, endometriosis is not considered a malignant disorder.

The possibility that endometriosis could, however, transform and become cancer has been debated in the literature since 1925. Mutations in the certain genes have been implicated in the cause of endometriosis and in the progression to cancer of the ovary (Swiersz 2006). There is also data to support that ovarian endometriosis could have the potential for malignant transformation. Epidemiologic and genetic studies support this notion. It seems that endometriosis is associated with specific types of ovarian cancer (endometrioid and clear cell) (Vlahos et al, 2010). The relationship between endometriosis and ovarian cancer is an intriguing and still poorly investigated issue. Specifically, histological findings indicate a definitive association between endometriosis and endometrioid/clear cell carcinoma of the ovary (Parihar & Mirge 2009).

Women with endometriosis may be more prone to certain cancers

There are recent studies which have shown that mutations in the certain genes found were identified in 20% of endometrial carcinomas and 20.6% of solitary endometrial cysts, played a part in the development of ovarian cancers. In addition to cancerous transformation at the site of endometriosis, there is recent evidence to indicate that having endometriosis itself may increase a woman’s risk of developing non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, malignant melanoma, and breast cancer (Swiersz 2014).

Women with endometriosis appear to be more likely to develop certain types of cancer. Brinton, PhD, Chief of the Hormonal and Reproductive Epidemiology branch at the National Cancer Institute has studied the long-term effects of endometriosis, which led her to Sweden about 20 years ago. Using the country’s national inpatient register, she identified more than 20,000 women who had been hospitalised for endometriosis.

After an average follow-up of more than 11 years, the risk for cancer among these women was elevated by 90% for ovarian cancer, 40% for hematopoietic cancer (primarily non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma), and 30% for breast cancer. Having a longer history of endometriosis and being diagnosed at a young age were both associated with increased ovarian cancer risk (Brinton et al, 1997).

Farr Nezhat, MD, Chief of Gynecologic Minimally Invasive Surgery and Robotics at St. Luke’s and Roosevelt Hospitals in New York City and Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Columbia University, spoke on the pathogenesis of endometriosis and ovarian cancer. According to a 2000 study of women with ovarian cancer by Hiroyuki Yoshikawa and colleagues, endometriosis was present in 39% of the women with clear cell tumours and 21% of those with endometrial tumours. The studies clearly suggest that Endometriosis may be the precursor of clear cell, or endometrial ovarian cancer (Yoshikawa et al, 2000).

Inflammation and Estrogens are a big factor in many cancers

If you combine inflammation with oestrogen as with both endometriosis and ovarian or uterine cancers, it’s going to be a vicious circle, as the 2 diseases share numerous other characteristics. For example, both are related to early menstrual cycles and late menopause, infertility, and inability to fall pregnant. Any factors that relieve or offer protection against both conditions need to be explored, including dietary and lifestyle changes etc.

Some authors also suggest that there is an also increased risks of colon cancer, ovarian cancer, thyroid cancer non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and malignant melanoma in women with endometriosis when compared with the general population (Brinton et al, 2005).

Proper management and early intervention is crucial

If you do have patients with endometriosis you do need to take into consideration the future implications of this disease, not only the pain and turmoil it causes on the way, but also the future possibility that endometriosis could also lead to cervical cancer, ovarian cancer, or many of the other cancers that can be found in the body.

There are certain medications, both natural based and medical that can great assist in the treatments and management of endometriosis and microscopic endometriosis implants. These do need to be explored and we now have the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists recommending diet and lifestyle changes and to use complementary medicine such and Chinese Herbal Medicine and Acupuncture for the the management and treatment of endometriosis. This is recommended alongside medical interventions and it does get back to a multimodality approach is the key factor in proper management of this disease.

Diet and lifestyle changes are crucial in cancer prevention

There have been numerous studies showing the benefits of a low inflammatory based diet and reduction in lifestyle factors such as stress. These things are also crucial in any inflammatory disease and certainly in cancer prevention.

Anyone with endometriosis does need to be following anti-inflammatory diet, with reduced refined foods and increased whole foods. This is something I promote whole-heartedly and see great results with on a daily basis. It is also part of my PACE- Diet and Lifestyle program. PACE meaning (Paleo/Primal Ancestral Clean Eating) .

This style of diet is very much like the mediterranean diet which is now shown to be one of the best diets in the world to help with cancer prevention and reduction of cardiovascular disease. It is something that has been shown to assist with inflammatory diseases such as endometriosis. This can be done alongside supplements such as omega 3 oils and antioxidants that also offer protection and prevention against inflammatory diseases too. You should also talk to a qualified healthcare professional about diet and lifestyle interventions and supplementation.

See an Endometriosis Expert

Hope that helps everyone to understand why it is so important to really make some proactive changes if you do have endometriosis. You really need to explore as many options as you can when trying to manage this disease and halt its progression. It is also important to see an endometriosis expert and not try and manage this disease yourself. You just should not be doing this and it is not effective management. Always see an appropriately trained healthcare professional who is trained in endometriosis and other disease states in women. We don’t want to see it end up as cancer later on and this is why it is so important to make sure you are being appropriately managed now.

Final Word

If you do need help with endometriosis, and the associated symptoms of endometriosis, give my friendly staff a call and find out how I can help you. Always remember that early intervention is the key and being managed properly is also crucial.

Take care

Regards

Andrew Orr

-No Stone Left Unturned

-Master of Reproductive Medicine

-Master of Women’s Health Medicine

-The Endometriosis Experts

Bringing Awareness To Cancers In Women

Posted on May 13, 2020May 13, 2020 by Andrew Orr

Over the next week I am going to focus on a very serious subject – Cancers in women.

Having recently focusses on the awareness of endometriosis and adenemyosis, I thought I should bring some awareness to the topic of cancers in women as a whole. This isn’t to scare people either. It is to bring awareness to a very serious topic and to help people understand the importance of early intervention and changes to diet and lifestyle can greatly reduce the risks of this horrible disease.

With cancer rates increasing I am going to focus on the cancers that affect the female reproductive system and impact of reproductive health. This will also include those cancers that increase after menopause too. Whenever I talk about fertility and reproduction, it is referring to the stage in life when women are fertile and are of reproductive age. Menopause is also including because that still comes under the reproductive system.

Cancer has been around a long time

Humankind has been dealing with the impact of cancer and malignancy for its entire history and the first clear description of any cancer is found in the Ebers Papyrus, dating from nearly 3500 years ago. The cancer was very accurate described by the Egyptian writer and what was described was in fact breast cancer. Chinese Medicine has texts dating back for further than that, describing the different forms of cancers and their treatments. Modern medicine does tend to only reference Greek, Egyptian and Roman text.

When these Greek physicians first cut the surface of a breast cancer, it did in fact resemble a crab, because of it solid central body, with extensions into the surrounding tissue resembling legs.

The ancient Greek word for crab is “Karkinos” which in Latin is translated into ‘cancer’- as in the astrological sign. This term was then extended into all cancers and malignancies, not just breast cancer.

Genetic, hereditary and hormonal links to cancer

It is believed that cancer is predominantly caused by a failure in the regulation of genes which govern cell growth and differentiation. Malignant change is most typically the result of a cascade of changes in a number of genes.

These changes in genes can be bought on by hereditary genetic genetic changes, while others may be the incorporation of foreign viral DNA, or a compound that may act as the primary trigger for malignant change. Some cancers and malignancies are also caused by hormonal stimulation both internally and by injection, or ingestion of hormones from an outside source (Drugs, Hormone Replacement etc).

Diet and lifestyle links to cancer

Other cancers are plain and simply caused by the highly inflammatory foods we eat and the lifestyle we live. Obesity and being overweight increases our cancer risks and there are no many studies proving these links. Having excess fat stores, eating highly processed foods, high GI foods and over 3-4 glasses of alcohol per week can increase your cancer risks exponentially. This why we all need to adopt a clean eating approach to foods and look at eating less refined foods and more whole foods.

The incidence of cancers in women is highest in developing western countries and lowest in countries such as Africa and Asia. The difference has more to do with diet than it does genetics. Since there is compelling evidence that alcohol, highly refined foods and obesity increase the risk of cancers in women (and men) I will be focusing greatly on the need for us all to look at changing our diets to not only help in the prevention of certain cancers, but to also help prevention of other disease states that are leading causes of our lives being cut short.

The most common cancer in women

Since breast cancer remains the most common malignancy in women, comprising of 18% of all female cancers, most women will know someone who has had this diagnosis.

I’ll focus on breast cancer firstly and then go into the other cancers so that we can all be educated about how we can prevent these disease states from increasing. If you have any questions, or topics you want discussed around this topic, please let me know

Take care and remember prevention is better than cure. Always talk to your doctor, or healthcare practitioner about cancer risks and always seek early intervention if you find any lumps and bumps that were not there before.

Hope you the topics help you all. If I can save just one person with this information, then I am happy. Lets try and save more than one, so please like and share to spread the word.

Regards

Andrew Orr

-No Stone Left Unturned

-Master of Women’s Health Medicine

-The Women’s Health Experts

Super Sperm Could Save Women’s Lives

Posted on December 28, 2017June 19, 2018 by Andrew Orr

Worldwide, cervical cancer is the third most common cancer among women and the second most frequent cause of cancer-related death, accounting for nearly 300,000 deaths annually. In developing nations, it is often the most common cause of cancer-related death among women and a leading cause of death overall.

While the treatment of cervical cancer has improved considerably, there still needs to be better solutions and more effective treatments found. There are also many side effects of these treatments and scientists may have found the answer in one of the strongest swimmers on the planet…. Sperm.

Over the years, scientists have tried to find delivery systems into cancer cells to minimize the side effects of drugs, but to target tumor and cancer directly. They have looked at many delivery systems from Stem Cells to Bacteria and none have shown the promise of the mighty sperm.

In a latest scientists report from the journal ACS Nanothat, scientists have harnessed the swimming power of sperm to carry a cancer drug directly into a cervical tumor.

The challenge for many drugs is that they do not penetrate far enough into the tissue of a cancer cell. So scientists have been trying to find a self propelled system that can penetrate another organism and carry a drug deep into the heart of it. Well, guess what? That is exactly what sperm is designed to do and these mighty swimmers are having a back pack full of drugs strapped to the back and through the influence of magnetic fields, are being successfully guided into tumor cells.

The researchers packaged a common cancer drug, into bovine sperm cells and outfitted them with tiny magnetic harnesses. Using a magnetic field, sperm were guided into a lab-grown tumor of cervical cancer cells. When the harness arms pressed against the tumor, the arms opened up, releasing the sperm. The sperm then swam into the tumor, fused its membrane with that of a cancer cell, and released the drug. When unleashed by the thousands, drug-loaded sperm killed more than 80 percent of a cancerous ball while leaking very little of their payload en route.

Further work is needed to ensure the system could work in animals and eventually humans, but researchers say the sperm motors have the potential to one day treat cancer and other diseases in the female reproductive tract.

We don’t often look at sperm other than something that is needed to make a baby. But this tiny mighty swimmer could be used to one day treat inflammatory gynaecological conditions such as endometriosis, adenomyosis and other inflammatory gynaecological diseases.

I have written quite a few posts on some of the uses of sperm to help treat depression, help trigger ovulation and also assist with implantation of the embryo. Sperm may just become the next saviour in the attack on diseases many women face and help save women’s lives all over the world. Hail to the mighty super sperm.

Just remember that to have super sperm, you also need to be super healthy. Poor health and lifestyle choices leads to poor quality sperm. Things like alcohol, smoking, drugs, poor diet etc, all lead to poor quality sperm. There are also essential nutrients, antioxidants and amino acids that help sperm quality too.

Take care

Regards

Dr Andrew Orr

-Women’s & Men’s Health Advocate

-No Stone Left Unturned