On tests using mice, the scientists discovered the abnormal growth was promoted by iron.
The scientists in the journal Human Reproduction says that the discovery that iron-binding molecules reduced cell growth might lead to treatments.
During menstrual cycle rogue endometrial cells grow and then cause internal bleeding that can cause pain and scarring, and even infertility.
The team of scientists at the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium, say that iron could be the culprit because of its prevalence in sufferers pelvises'.
Scientists also surmised that the excess iron comes from the body breaking down the red blood cells from the internal bleed.
Lead researcher and head of the department of gynaecology at the Catholic University of Louvain,Professor Jacques Donnez, said: "Our findings represent a crucial step in finding the answer to endometriosis because we are focusing our research more on the origins and causes of the disease in the context of prevention, than on surgical treatment when the disease is already present."
He further explained, "We really hope that, in the future, genetics will help us to determine the population of young women at high risk of endometriosis, and that treatment, resulting from our findings, may then prevent the development or evolution of the disease."
