Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Sep 3;20(1):189.
doi: 10.1186/s12905-020-01051-0.

Serum macrophage migration inhibition factor for diagnosing endometriosis and its severity: case-control study

Affiliations

Serum macrophage migration inhibition factor for diagnosing endometriosis and its severity: case-control study

Sahar Mohamed Yehya Elbaradie et al. BMC Womens Health. .

Abstract

Background: Endometriosis is a long-standing progressive disease that affects women of reproductive age. Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is one of non-invasive blood biomarker that was detected in sera of endometriotic patients. The present study aimed to determine the accuracy of serum MIF in diagnosing endometriosis in women with infertility and chronic pelvic pain, and correlate its level to the stage of the disease.

Methods: Observational case-control study conducted at Fayoum University hospital from March 2016 till September 2018. Three hundred women candidate for diagnostic laparoscopy for either infertility or gynecologic chronic pelvic pain were included. The study group included patients with symptoms suggestive of endometriosis or chocolate cyst by ultrasound and proved by laparoscopy and histopathology. The control group included other causes of infertility or pelvic pain. All patients undergone either diagnostic or operative laparoscopy, and before laparoscopy blood sampling for quantitative measurement of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) protein in serum by ELISA technique.

Results: The level of serum MIF was significantly higher in endometriosis group compared to control group (1.75 ± 1.48 pg/ml and 0.51 ± 0.45 pg/ ml, respectively, P = < 0.001), with a progressive increase with advancing stage (stage I, 1.3 ± 1.03 pg/ml, stage II, 1.7 ± 1.57 pg/ml, stage III, 2.1 ± 1.19 pg/ml and in stage IV, 3.2 ± 2.6 pg/ml). Moreover, in patients presented with pain and infertile patients showed significantly higher levels of serum MIF (1.92 ± 1.13 vs 1.21 ± 1.17 and 1.82 ± 1.13 vs 1.32 ± 0.91 respectively with p-value < 0.001). ROC curve of serum MIF with a cut off value of 0.85 pg/ml or more achieves a sensitivity of 80.6%, specificity of 83.3%, positive predictive value of 82.9% and negative predictive value of 81.2%.

Conclusion: Serum MIF might be a promising marker not only for noninvasive diagnosis of endometriosis but as a target for detecting severity as well.

Keywords: Chronic pelvic pain; Diagnosis; Endometriosis; Infertility; Laparoscopy; Serum macrophage migration inhibition factor.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Authors decline any relevant financial, personal, political, intellectual, or religious interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Consort flow chart
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
ROC curve

Similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Deroo BJ, Korach KS. Estrogen receptors and human disease. J Clin Invest. 2006;116(3):561–570. doi: 10.1172/JCI27987. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Rakhila H, Girard K, Leboeuf M, Lemyre M, Akoum A. Macrophage migration inhibitory factor is involved in ectopic endometrial tissue growth and peritoneal-endometrial tissue interaction in vivo: a plausible link to endometriosis development. PLoS One. 2014;9(10):e110434. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0110434. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Giudice LC. Clinical practice. Endometriosis. N Engl J Med. 2010;362(25):2389–2398. doi: 10.1056/NEJMcp1000274. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Scioscia M, Bruni F, Ceccaroni M, Steinkasserer M, Stepniewska A, Minelli L. Distribution of endometriotic lesions in endometriosis stage IV supports the menstrual reflux theory and requires specific preoperative assessment and therapy. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 2011;90(2):136–139. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0412.2010.01008.x. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Canis M, Bourdel N, Houlle C, Gremeau A, Botchorishvili R, Matsu-zaki S. Endometriosis may not be a chronic disease: an alternative theory offering more optimistic prospects for our patients. Fertil Steril. 2016;105(1):32–34. doi: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2015.09.009. - DOI - PubMed

Substances