Investigating the relationship between Human Papillomavirus and Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 and 2 with Endometriosis Lesions

Endometriosis is one of the most common diseases in women, in which endometrial tissue begins to grow outside the uterine. Many factors are involved in the development of this disorder. Studies have shown that infectious agents due to the inflammation may predispose endometriosis. In this study the presence of human papillomavirus and herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2 were examined in endometriosis lesions.
Material & This case-control study was performed in Sarem Women's Hospital. 40 paraffin-embedded blocks of endometriosis and 40 normal endometrial tissue blocks from patients without endometriosis were selected as control. After DNA extraction, molecular analysis was performed using polymerase chain reaction for diagnosis of mentioned infections.
The results of this study showed that, in investigation of papilloma infection, the virus DNA was found in one of the tissues of patients group (2.5%) and in 6 (15%) of healthy subjects. HSV infection was detected in 5 samples (12.5%) of the endometriosis tissues and 2 samples (5%) of control group.
Findings of this research indicated that there is no significant association between papillomavirus and herpes simplex virus with endometriosis. In the other words, the presence of these viruses as factors that increase the risk of endometriosis incidence was not confirmed (P = 0.14 and P= 0.38, respectively), however further investigations are needed for the final conclusion.