Is a new diagnosis of endometriosis possible soon?

A team of scientists working in the University of Edinburgh’s Centre for Reproductive Health have discovered a blood signature marker that correlates with the presence of endometriosis in women. This research is in its very early stages but could lead to better understanding and aid diagnosis of this condition. Endometriosis is a debilitating condition for women in which tissue similar to that present in the womb grows outside the uterus in other parts of a woman’s body.

Often confused with other conditions with similar symptoms . . . endometriosis can take years to diagnose accurately

Often confused with other conditions with similar symptoms, such as appendicitis, irritable bowel or premenstrual syndrome, endometriosis can take years to diagnose accurately. Even then there is no cure and little treatment is available to alleviate the pain other than hormone therapy or removing the affected area of abnormal cell growth by surgery.

Emma Barnett has made a documentary recently about her own experience of suffering for many years with endometriosis

The BBC Radio 4 Today presenter, Emma Barnett, has made a documentary recently about her own experience of suffering for many years with endometriosis and her battle to get a diagnosis and treatment. Emma interviews a leading specialist in the subject, Dr Lucy Whitaker, and in their conversation, it transpires that lack of funding is the reason why there has been little progress in identifying this condition which affects an estimated one in ten women in the UK. It is suggested that because endometriosis does not kill women it is not a priority but the documentary states that besides the suffering it causes it is estimated to cost the UK billions of pounds in lost economic activity.

new research . . .  has come up with potential groundbreaking discoveries about how to identify endometriosis

Fortunately, new research, regardless of finances, has come up with potential groundbreaking discoveries about how to identify endometriosis. The investigators Ioannis Simitsidellis, et al., working in different academic institutions in the UK, have just published their research in the European Journal of Endocrinology, 2026 195 22-24 under the title “Steroid hormone profiling reveals altered adrenal androgen production in endometriosis.”

Androgens are steroid hormones that regulate male sexual development and some aspects of metabolic health in both males and females. In this study they found that there were high levels of the androgen 11-ketotestosterone in blood taken from women with endometriosis. This suggests that a statistical model of concentrations of this hormone in blood could be used potentially as a biomarker to accurately indicate the presence of endometriosis in women.

These initial findings are very exciting and obviously require further investigation and assessment, but they could at last lead to earlier diagnosis and the development of new treatments for women suffering from endometriosis.

‘Emma Barnett: Fighting Endometriosis’ was on BBC2 and is now available on iPlayer.

By our Health Correspondent