Endometriosis is an estrogen-dependent disease that afflict about 10% of women in their reproductive age, causing severe pain and infertility.
The potential roles of female steroid hormones in modulation key estrogen-metabolizing enzymes, steroid sulfatase (STS) and estrogen sulfotransferase (SULT1E1), were investigated.
The expression of STS and SULT1E1 mRNA in biopsy samples (n = 78) of superficial and deep endometriotic lesions, eutopic endometrium of women with endometriosis and endometrium from control patients were compared according to the menstrual cycle phase.