Can endometriosis lead to ovarian cancer if not treated correctly?

-- Rocio

Ovarian cancers occur in about 2-3 percent of women over the course of their lifetimes. The most common type of ovarian cancer is epithelial adenocarcinoma. About 1-2 percent of all ovarian cancers are a type called endometrioid clear-cell adenocarcinomas; these are seen more frequently in women with endometriosis. So, although having endometriosis increases your risk of endometrioid cancer, this very rare type makes up such a small number of cases of cancer that your overall risk of ovarian cancer is really not increased. No special testing or screening is indicated.