BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM

An Australian medical technology company is making waves in the fight against endometriosis, a chronic and often debilitating condition that affects one in ten women globally. Proteomics International, in collaboration with researchers at the University of Melbourne and the Royal Women’s Hospital, is on the verge of launching the world’s first blood test to diagnose endometriosis. Dubbed PromarkerEndo, this test could transform the diagnostic process for a disease that has long been underserved by medical advancements.

“This advancement marks a significant step toward non-invasive, personalized care for a condition that has long been underserved by current medical approaches,” said Richard Lipscombe, managing director of Proteomics International, in a recent press release.

From years to minutes: tackling the diagnostic delay

Endometriosis occurs when tissue similar to the uterine lining grows outside the uterus, causing painful lesions that can lead to severe discomfort, infertility, and other health complications. Despite its prevalence, patients often endure up to seven years of debilitating symptoms before receiving a diagnosis.

The current gold standard for diagnosing endometriosis is laparoscopy, an invasive surgical procedure that is expensive, carries risks, and is inaccessible to many. The long diagnostic delay is compounded by the disease’s variable and often dismissed symptoms, leaving many patients feeling overlooked and untreated.

PromarkerEndo aims to change this narrative by providing a simple, non-invasive alternative. In recent peer-reviewed trials, the test demonstrated a remarkable 99.7 percent accuracy in distinguishing severe endometriosis cases from those without the disease. Even in the early stages, where markers are harder to detect, the test maintained an accuracy rate exceeding 85 percent.

Science behind the test: decoding bloodwork

The development of PromarkerEndo is the result of years of research into blood biomarkers for endometriosis. In the latest study, researchers analyzed bloodwork from 749 participants of predominantly European descent. All participants underwent laparoscopies to confirm the presence or absence of endometriosis, ensuring the study’s reliability.

Using advanced algorithms, researchers identified a panel of ten proteins strongly associated with endometriosis. According to gynecologist Peter Rogers from the University of Melbourne, “This work is a significant step towards solving the critical need for a non-invasive, accurate test that can diagnose endometriosis at an early stage as well as when it is more advanced.”

The test builds on insights gained from other conditions, such as cervical cancer, where biomarkers have successfully been used for early diagnosis. While prior attempts at identifying endometriosis biomarkers struggled to achieve diagnostic accuracy above 90 percent, PromarkerEndo’s results surpass these benchmarks.

Challenges and next steps

Despite the promising results, researchers acknowledge the need for further refinement. For instance, it’s possible that some control participants in the trial were undiagnosed positive cases, which could have influenced the test’s accuracy. Proteomics International is currently refining its algorithms with additional datasets to address such limitations.

The company plans to launch PromarkerEndo in Australia by the second quarter of this year, pending approval from the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). Proteomics International has also filed patents for the test in major jurisdictions worldwide.

A glimpse of the future

Endometriosis has long been a silent burden for millions, but this breakthrough could herald a new era of timely diagnosis and treatment. By offering a non-invasive, reliable alternative to laparoscopy, PromarkerEndo has the potential to improve countless lives.

While researchers temper their optimism with caution, many experts agree that a reliable non-invasive biomarker test for endometriosis is no longer a distant dream. As Lipscombe notes, “This is just the beginning of a revolution in how we approach endometriosis diagnosis and care.”

If all goes as planned, 2024 could be the year that endometriosis patients finally see a long-overdue shift in their journey toward diagnosis and treatment.

Source study: Human Reproduction—Identification of plasma protein biomarkers for endometriosis and the development of statistical models for disease diagnosis