Medical treatment of adenomyosis: a literature review

Abstract

Adenomyosis is a heterogeneous gynecologic disease with a range of clinical presentations, the most common being heavy menstrual bleeding and dysmenorrhea. This article provides an overview of current knowledge about the methods of medical therapy for adenomyosis, based on the current understanding of the pathogenesis of the disease. We searched for scientific publications in the Cochrane Library, PubMed, and eLIBRARY databases using the keywords "adenomyosis", "medical treatment", and "hormonal therapy" from 2017 to 2022. We analyzed and summarized the scientific data accumulated to date on the methods of medical treatment of adenomyosis in women of reproductive age using gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists, aromatase inhibitors, mifepristone, a levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine device, combined oral contraceptives, and progestins.

Keywords

• adenomyosis
• gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists
• aromatase inhibitors
• mifepristone
• levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine device
• combined oral contraceptives
• progestins