Abstract
Endometriosis is a multifactorial and enigmatic disease since the causal clusters of conditions leading to one of the four stages of the malady comprise, but are not limited to, anatomical, pathological, genetic and immunological dysfunctions. Since the early 80s, immunologic parameters appear associated with the evolving entity of the disease influencing directly or indirectly the pathophysiology factor(s) implicated. We hereby propose a hypothesis on how regulation of the immune system by cytokines and other molecules actively participating in immune conditioning and reactions, sets the conditions for the manifestation of the disease and also how this information may lead to a novel diagnostic evaluation tool bypassing surgery.
Keywords: Endometriosis, cytokines, IL-12, IL-15, IL-18, IFN-γ, VEGF