Peripheral blood biomarkers for endometriosis

Abstract

Endometriosis is a complex disease to study and diagnose. Ultrasound can be used to diagnose cysts and endometrioma but cannot rule out peritoneal endometriosis. Endometriosis is defined as endometrium outside of uterus. It is associated with infertility and pain. If we find a diagnostic test to diagnose endometriosis in blood it would be a convenient, most probably cheap test that would discriminate women who are suffering from endometriosis from those who do not. Till today, we do not have a diagnostic test for endometriosis. For women it is a heavy psychological burden, and quick diagnosis would help reduce this burden. Studies have shown that endometriosis cost arises predominantly from productivity loss and is predicted by decreased quality of life. In this chapter we describe and discuss the current status of biomarkers (miRNAs, glycoproteins, immunological, angiogenic, cell adhesion/invasion factors) of endometriosis in peripheral blood.