N-Acetylcysteine in Endometriosis: A Systematic Review of Biological Rationale and Clinical Evidence.

BACKGROUND

Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory and estrogen-dependent disease in which oxidative stress, immune dysregulation, and lesion-supportive microenvironmental signaling contribute to lesion development. N-acetylcysteine (NAC), a glutathione-replenishing and redox-modulating agent, has been studied as a possible non-hormonal intervention.

METHODS

Following preregistration in the Open Science Framework (OSF), we performed a PRISMA-compliant systematic review of studies evaluating NAC in endometriosis-related clinical, in vivo, ex vivo, or in vitro settings. We searched PubMed/MEDLINE, EBSCOhost, and the Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (BASE) from inception to 24 May 2026. Risk of bias was assessed with design-specific instruments.

RESULTS

Twenty-two studies were included. Clinical evidence comprised six studies and suggested that the findings vary by clinical context. In non-postoperative settings, NAC was associated with reduced pain, decreased NSAID use, and endometrioma shrinkage or stabilization. In contrast, the only postoperative randomized comparison found no added benefit of NAC over continuous oral contraceptive therapy for recurrence or pain. Fertility-related clinical findings were suggestive but preliminary. Across nonclinical models, NAC reduced proliferation, lesion burden, oxidative stress, inflammatory mediators, and, in selected systems, migration-related behavior. Mechanistic studies linked NAC to modulation of ROS-dependent proliferation, TNF-α, COX-2, MMP-2/-9, autophagy-related signaling, oxidation-sensitive nociception, and partial protection of oocyte and embryo competence under endometriosis-associated oxidative conditions.

CONCLUSIONS

NAC shows biological plausibility and preclinical activity in endometriosis, but clinical evidence is heterogeneous and methodologically limited.