Efficacy and safety of Elagolix in the treatment of endometriosis associated pain: a systematic review and network meta-analysis

Omar Mattar, Lubaba O. Namous, Mohamed Hassan Ros, Mohamed Fathi, Fares A Elgendy, S M.elghazaly, Ahmed Ibrahim, Ahmed Gadallah, Esraa Faraag, Omnia Sayed, Ahmed Samy, Ahmed M. Abbas
In: Proceedings in Obstetrics and Gynecology · 2021 · vol. 10(2) · doi:10.17077/2154-4751.1510 · W3165334896
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-14 ⓘ

This network meta-analysis of five randomized controlled trials found that Elagolix significantly reduced dysmenorrhea compared to placebo at 12 and 24 weeks of treatment for endometriosis.

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⚙ AI-generated deep summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-14 · read from full text ⓘ

This paper systematically searched for published randomized controlled trials (2000–February 2020) assessing elagolix for endometriosis-associated pain and used network meta-analysis of five eligible studies to compare outcomes across treatments. It analyzed continuous endpoints including analgesic use, dysmenorrhea, non-menstrual pelvic pain, and quality of life, reporting that elagolix 250 mg significantly reduced dysmenorrhea versus placebo at 12 weeks and that elagolix 200 mg showed significant dysmenorrhea reduction versus placebo after 24 weeks. The authors’ conclusions emphasize efficacy and safety in the context of dysmenorrhea reduction, with the limitation that only five RCTs met eligibility for the network meta-analysis and the evidence is constrained to the outcomes reported in those trials. This paper is centrally about endometriosis—specifically, a systematic review and network meta-analysis of elagolix efficacy and safety for endometriosis-associated pain.

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Abstract

Background: Endometriosis commonly presents with dysmenorrhea, non-menstrual pelvic pain, and infertility. Elagolix is an oral, short-acting, gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonist acting through complete estrogen suppression. Objective: To evaluate the evidence from published randomized controlled trials (RCTs) about the efficacy and safety of Elagolix in the treatment of endometriosis associated pain. Search strategy: Electronic databases containing articles published between January 2000 and February 2020 were searched using the MeSH terms (Elagolix OR gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonist OR GnRH antagonist OR antigonadotropin) AND (endometriosis) AND (pelvic pain). Selection criteria: All RCTs assessing the efficacy of Elagolix in the treatment of pain associated with endometriosis were considered for this network meta-analysis, where five studies were deemed eligible for this review. Data collection and analysis: The mean difference (MD) and confidence intervals (95% CI) for continuous outcomes including analgesic use, dysmenorrhea, non-menstrual pelvic pain, and quality of life were calculated. Main results: Elagolix 250 mg reduced dysmenorrhea significantly, as compared to placebo, (MD = -0.41, 95% CI [-0.7, -0.13]) at 12 weeks, while Elagolix 200 mg reduced dysmenorrhea significantly (MD= -1.2, 95% CI [-1.9, -0.57]) compared to placebo after 24 weeks of treatment. Conclusions: Elagolix 200 mg seems to be an effective drug with fewer side effects when used to reduce dysmenorrhea and non-menstrual pelvic pain after 24 weeks of treatment in patients with endometriosis.
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Abstract

Background: Endometriosis commonly presents with dysmenorrhea, non-menstrual pelvic pain, and infertility. Elagolix is an oral, short-acting, gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonist acting through complete estrogen suppression.

Objective

To evaluate the evidence from published randomized controlled trials (RCTs) about the efficacy and safety of Elagolix in the treatment of endometriosis associated pain. Search strategy: Electronic databases containing articles published between January 2000 and February 2020 were searched using the MeSH terms (Elagolix OR gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonist OR GnRH antagonist OR antigonadotropin) AND (endometriosis) AND (pelvic pain). Selection criteria: All RCTs assessing the efficacy of Elagolix in the treatment of pain associated with endometriosis were considered for this network meta-analysis, where five studies were deemed eligible for this review. Data collection and analysis: The mean difference (MD) and confidence intervals (95% CI) for continuous outcomes including analgesic use, dysmenorrhea, non-menstrual pelvic pain, and quality of life were calculated. Main results: Elagolix 250 mg reduced dysmenorrhea significantly, as compared to placebo, (MD = -0.41, 95% CI [-0.7, -0.13]) at 12 weeks, while Elagolix 200 mg reduced dysmenorrhea significantly (MD= -1.2, 95% CI [-1.9, -0.57]) compared to placebo after 24 weeks of treatment.

Conclusions

Elagolix 200 mg seems to be an effective drug with fewer side effects when used to reduce dysmenorrhea and non-menstrual pelvic pain after 24 weeks of treatment in patients with endometriosis.

Keywords

Endometriosis, Elagolix, GnRH antagonist, pain, dysmenorrhea How to Cite: Mattar, O. M., Namous, L. O., Ros, M., Fathi, M., Elgendy, F. A., Elghazaly, S. M., Ibrahim, A. H., Gadallah, A., Faraag, E. A., Sayed, O., Samy, A. & Abbas, A. M., (2021) “Efficacy and safety of Elagolix in the treatment of endometriosis associated pain: a systematic review and network meta-analysis”, Proceedings in Obstetrics and Gynecology archive 10(2), 1–13. doi: https://doi.org/10.17077/2154-4751.1510 Rights: Copyright © 2021 the authors Downloads: Download pdf View PDF 2852 Views 239 Downloads

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Condition tags

endometriosisdysmenorrheainfertility

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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