Non-invasive diagnosis of endometriosis based on a combined analysis of six plasma biomarkers

Attila Mihalyi, A Mihalyi, Olivier Gevaert, O Gevaert, C M Kyama, Cleophas Kyama, Péter Simsa, P Simsa, Nathalie Pochet, N Pochet, F De Smet, Frank De Smet, Bart De Moor, B De Moor, Christel Meuleman, C Meuleman, Jaak Billen, J Billen, N Blanckaert, Norbert Blanckaert, Alexandra Vodolazkaia, A Vodolazkaia, V Fulop, Vilmos Fülöp, Thomas D’Hooghe, T M D'Hooghe
Human Reproduction · 2009 · vol. 25(3) , pp. 654–664 · doi:10.1093/humrep/dep425 · PMID:20007161 · W2143886331
article OA: bronze CC0 ⤵ 132 in-corpus citations
📄 Open PDF View on OpenAlex View on PubMed View at publisher
⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-06 ⓘ

A combined analysis of six plasma biomarkers (IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α, hsCRP, CA-125, CA-19-9) using advanced statistical methods accurately diagnosed minimal-mild and moderate-severe endometriosis.

One-sentence paraphrase of the abstract; not a substitute for reading it. No clinical advice. How this works

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Lack of a non-invasive diagnostic test contributes to the long delay between onset of symptoms and diagnosis of endometriosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the combined performance of six potential plasma biomarkers in the diagnosis of endometriosis. METHODS: This case-control study was conducted in 294 infertile women, consisting of 93 women with a normal pelvis and 201 women with endometriosis. We measured plasma concentrations of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, tumour necrosis factor-alpha, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), and cancer antigens CA-125 and CA-19-9. Analyses were done using the Kruskal-Wallis test, Mann-Whitney test, receiver operator characteristic, stepwise logistic regression and least squares support vector machines (LSSVM). RESULTS: Plasma levels of IL-6, IL-8 and CA-125 were increased in all women with endometriosis and in those with minimal-mild endometriosis, compared with controls. In women with moderate-severe endometriosis, plasma levels of IL-6, IL-8 and CA-125, but also of hsCRP, were significantly higher than in controls. Using stepwise logistic regression, moderate-severe endometriosis was diagnosed with a sensitivity of 100% (specificity 84%) and minimal-mild endometriosis was detected with a sensitivity of 87% (specificity 71%) during the secretory phase. Using LSSVM analysis, minimal-mild endometriosis was diagnosed with a sensitivity of 94% (specificity 61%) during the secretory phase and with a sensitivity of 92% (specificity 63%) during the menstrual phase. CONCLUSIONS: Advanced statistical analysis of a panel of six selected plasma biomarkers on samples obtained during the secretory phase or during menstruation allows the diagnosis of both minimal-mild and moderate-severe endometriosis with high sensitivity and clinically acceptable specificity.

My notes (saved in your browser only)

Condition tags

endometriosis

MeSH descriptors

Biomarkers Endometriosis Biomarkers CA-125 Antigen CA-125 Antigen CA-19-9 Antigen CA-19-9 Antigen Case-Control Studies C-Reactive Protein C-Reactive Protein Endometriosis Endometriosis Female Humans Interleukin-6 Interleukin-6 Interleukin-8 Interleukin-8 Logistic Models Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

Citation neighborhood

Papers in the corpus that this work cites (lower rings, blue) and that cite this one (upper rings, green). Dot size scales with the paper's in-corpus citation count — bigger dot = more influential within the endo/adeno field. Click a dot to open that paper. [ expand to 2 hops ] — adds papers reached through this work's immediate citers/citees. Heavier; up to 60 extra dots.

References (38)

Cited by (50)

Source provenance

europepmc
last seen: 2026-06-16T06:07:01.518242+00:00
openalex
last seen: 2026-06-10T17:14:06.276822+00:00
pubmed
last seen: 2026-05-13T22:13:53.633898+00:00
License: CC0 · commercial use OK