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Review
. 2024 Sep;30(9):875-889.
doi: 10.1016/j.molmed.2024.06.008. Epub 2024 Jul 10.

Endometriosis: recent advances that could accelerate diagnosis and improve care

Meaghan J Griffiths  1 , Andrew W Horne  1 , Douglas A Gibson  1 , Neil Roberts  1 , Philippa T K Saunders  2
Affiliations
Free article
Review

Endometriosis: recent advances that could accelerate diagnosis and improve care

Meaghan J Griffiths et al. Trends Mol Med. 2024 Sep.
Free article

Abstract

Endometriosis is a common disorder associated with pain, gastrointestinal and urinary symptoms, infertility, and fatigue. It is defined by the presence of endometrial-like lesions found predominantly in the pelvis. Mechanisms that contribute to disease aetiology include changes in hormonal, inflammatory, and pain pathways. In this article, we focus on recent developments in imaging technologies, on our improved understanding of mechanisms contributing to infertility, on drug therapies that are in clinical trials, and on insights from studies on the gut that offer potential to support self-management strategies. We postulate that improvements in the quality of life of patients will be accelerated by reframing endometriosis as a multi-system disorder and learning from treatments targeting symptoms shared between endometriosis, neuroinflammatory, and gastrointestinal disorders.

Keywords: chronic pain; endometriosis; genomics; imaging; infertility; inflammation; microbiome.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of interests P.T.K.S.’s institution (University of Edinburgh) receives payment for consultancy for Gesynta and Kynos. A.W.H.’s institution (University of Edinburgh) has received payment for consultancy and grant funding from Roche Diagnostics to assist in the early development of a possible blood diagnostic biomarker for endometriosis and payment for consultancy fees from Gesynta and Joii. D.A.G., P.T.K.S., and A.W.H. are listed as co-inventors on UK Patent Application (No. 2217921·2).

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