Clinical predictors of postoperative recurrence in ovarian endometrioma: evaluation of follistatin expression

Aims: To evaluate clinical predictors of postoperative recurrence in ovarian endometrioma and to investigate the association between epithelial follistatin immunohistochemical expression and recurrence after surgery. Methods: This retrospective study included patients who underwent surgery for ovarian endometrioma between 2008 and 2013. Demographic, clinical, and surgical data and recurrence characteristics were analyzed. Follistatin expression in endometriotic glandular epithelial cells was assessed immunohistochemically using a binary scoring system (positive vs. negative). Factors associated with recurrence were evaluated statistically.Results: Fifty patients were included, and recurrence occurred in 24 (48%). Advanced-stage disease was significantly more common in patients with recurrence (66.7% vs. 30.8%, p=0.034), and previous endometriosis surgery was markedly higher in the recurrence group (50.0% vs. 3.8%, p