Current Understanding of Endometriosis Pathophysiology and Future Perspectives

Megan L. Falsetta, Emanuelle Chrysilla
Seminars in reproductive medicine · 2025 · vol. 43(03) , pp. 167–179 · doi:10.1055/s-0045-1810431 · PMID:40738132 · W4412745931
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-08 ⓘ

This review summarizes current understanding of endometriosis pathophysiology and discusses ongoing efforts to develop new biomarkers and therapies targeting the disease's root causes.

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⚙ AI-generated deep summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-08 ⓘ

This paper reviews the current understanding of endometriosis pathophysiology and outlines future perspectives, focusing on disease mechanisms and ongoing efforts to develop biomarkers and therapies. It highlights that, despite recognition over 100 years ago, the mechanisms remain incompletely understood and most treatments primarily address symptoms rather than preventing lesion growth or progression, with diagnostic confirmation typically requiring histology after surgical excision and substantial diagnostic delay. A major caveat is that the article is a narrative synthesis of existing knowledge and future directions rather than new primary experimental data, and it does not provide detailed comparative evidence for specific interventions. Relevance to endometriosis: the paper is centrally about endometriosis pathophysiology and future perspectives on mechanism-driven biomarkers and therapies.

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Abstract

Endometriosis-the growth of uterine-like tissue outside the uterus-is a devastating disease that severely reduces the quality of life of those affected, resulting in missed days from school and work due to intractable pelvic pain. While endometriosis was first recognized over 100 years ago, we still do not fully understand the mechanisms of the disease, and most treatments address the symptoms of pain and discomfort but do not prevent lesion growth or disease progression. Endometriosis is a significant cause of infertility; 50% of patients seeking fertility care have endometriosis. Definitive diagnosis typically requires histological examination of excised lesional tissue, necessitating surgical excision of lesions. Therefore, many patients have a significant diagnosis delay-up to 11 years following the first onset of symptoms. While modern research technologies hold the potential to vastly improve diagnosis and treatment, women's health, particularly genitopelvic health, is understudied and underfunded. Here, we summarize what is currently known about the mechanism and ongoing efforts to develop new biomarkers and therapies that target the root causes of disease.

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Condition tags

endometriosischronic_pelvic_paininfertility

MeSH descriptors

Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis

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.

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