Unresolved challenges in endometriosis: diagnostic delay, disease progression and recurrence

Michael D. Mueller, Michael Mueller, Majeda Jallad, Waleed Al Jassar, Waleed Fahad Al-Jassar, Hesham Arab, Haitham Felimban, Ghassan Lotfi, Mathilde Bourdon, Charles Chapron
In: Journal of Endometriosis and Uterine Disorders · 2026 · vol. 16 , pp. 100178 · doi:10.1016/j.jeud.2026.100178 · W7169018562
Review OA: gold CC0
🔓 Open OA copy View on OpenAlex View at publisher
⚙ AI-generated summary by gemini-2.5-flash-lite, 2026-07-18 ⓘ

This review highlights endometriosis's diagnostic delays, disease progression complexities, and high recurrence rates, emphasizing the need for better diagnostic tools and individualized, long-term management strategies.

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

Abstract

Endometriosis is a chronic, systemic, and neuroinflammatory condition that affects approximately 10% of women of reproductive age. Despite its high prevalence, major gaps remain in diagnosis, understanding of disease progression, and recurrence prevention. Diagnosis is often delayed due to disease heterogeneity, nonspecific symptoms, and frequent overlap with other pain syndromes or coexisting adenomyosis. Transvaginal ultrasound and MRI, now increasingly standardized, have improved lesion detection and mapping. However, broader integration of complementary tools such as clinical scoring systems and molecular biomarkers, including salivary microRNAs, is still underway. Evidence suggests that endometriosis may progress in lesion depth and systemic impact, potentially leading to neuropathic pain or, rarely, malignant transformation. Recurrence rates after conservative surgery remain high, yet long-term hormonal treatment significantly reduces this risk. In this narrative review, we highlight that endometriosis is not a uniform disease but a spectrum of clinical entities requiring individualized management. Addressing these unresolved challenges through improved diagnostic tools and tailored long-term care strategies is critical to limiting progression, preventing recurrence, and improving patient outcomes.

My notes (saved in your browser only)

Citation neighborhood (2-hop)

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. Outer rings show 2-hop neighbours — papers reached through the immediate citers/citees. [ collapse to 1-hop ]

References (73)

Source provenance

openalex
last seen: 2026-10-15T06:00:39.803327+00:00
License: CC0 · commercial use OK