Surgery and the use of drugs provided reduced pain scores in patients with endometriosis but nevertheless exhibit disadvantages , such as risk of recurrence and side effects , respectively .
However , improved quality of life in these patients has been obtained with the use of conventional treatment
Endometriosis is a chronic gynecological disease characterized by sustained painful symptoms that are responsible for a decline in the quality of life of sufferers .
Conventional treatment includes surgical and pharmacological therapy aim ing at reducing painful symptoms .
This study aim ed to evaluate pain levels in women with endometriosis , focusing on the influence of conventional treatment in controlling this variable .
Treatment of endometriosis is , therefore , a challenge for gynecologists and patients , as they must select the best therapeutic approach for this disease .
Letrozole combined with norethisterone acetate compared with norethisterone acetate alone in the treatment of pain symptoms caused by endometriosis.
BACKGROUND The available data on effectiveness of aromatase inhibitors in treating pain symptoms  related to endometriosis is limited . We compared the efficacy and tolerability of the aromatase inhibitor letrozole combined with norethisterone acetate versus norethisterone acetate alone in treating pain symptoms . METHODS This prospect i ve , open-label , non-r and omized trial included 82 women with pain symptoms caused by rectovaginal endometriosis . Patients received either a combination of letrozole and norethisterone acetate ( group L ) or norethisterone acetate alone ( group N ) for 6 months . Changes in pain symptoms during treatment and in the 12 months of follow-up were evaluated . Side effects of each treatment protocol were recorded . RESULTS Intensity of chronic pelvic pain and deep dyspareunia significantly decreased during treatment ( P < 0.001 versus baseline by 3 months ) in both study groups . At both 3- and 6-month assessment , the intensity of chronic pelvic pain ( P < 0.001 , P = 0.002 , respectively ) and deep dyspareunia ( P < 0.001 , P = 0.005 , respectively ) was significantly lower in group L than group N. At completion of treatment , 63.4 % of women in group N were satisfied with treatment compared with 56.1 % in group L ( P = 0.49 ) . Pain symptoms recurred after the completion of treatment ; at 6-month follow-up no difference was observed in the intensity of pain symptoms between the groups . Adverse effects were more frequent in group L than in group N ( P = 0.02 ) . CONCLUSIONS The combination drug regimen was more effective in reducing pain and deep dyspareunia than norethisterone acetate ; however , letrozole caused a higher incidence of adverse effects , cost more and did not improve patients ' satisfaction or influence recurrence of pain
Surgery and the use of drugs provided reduced pain scores in patients with endometriosis but nevertheless exhibit disadvantages , such as risk of recurrence and side effects , respectively .
However , improved quality of life in these patients has been obtained with the use of conventional treatment
Endometriosis is a chronic gynecological disease characterized by sustained painful symptoms that are responsible for a decline in the quality of life of sufferers .
Conventional treatment includes surgical and pharmacological therapy aim ing at reducing painful symptoms .
This study aim ed to evaluate pain levels in women with endometriosis , focusing on the influence of conventional treatment in controlling this variable .
Treatment of endometriosis is , therefore , a challenge for gynecologists and patients , as they must select the best therapeutic approach for this disease .