Non-invasive diagnosis of endometriosis: the goal or own goal?

Edgardo Somigliana, Paolo Vercellini, Paola Viganò, Paola Vigano', Laura Benaglia, P.G. Crosignani, Pier Giorgio Crosignani, Luigi Fedele
Human Reproduction · 2010 · vol. 25(8) , pp. 1863–1868 · doi:10.1093/humrep/deq141 · PMID:20519246 · W2104590217
article OA: closed CC0 ⤵ 45 in-corpus citations
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-09 ⓘ

This opinion paper analyzes the benefits and drawbacks of non-invasive endometriosis diagnostics, concluding they could be useful if not used for screening.

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Abstract

Laparoscopy is the gold standard for the diagnosis of endometriosis. Although some forms of the disease, such as ovarian endometriomas or deep infiltrating lesions, can now be reliably diagnosed using non-invasive instruments, adhesions and superficial implants cannot be identified without surgery. Identification of these latter forms of the disease has been the main rationale for claiming the necessity to identify non-invasive diagnostic tests to detect endometriosis. In this opinion paper, we analyse the pros and cons of the availability of this kind of test in the current context of our knowledge of the disease. In particular, we emphasize that this instrument may be of benefit provided that the test is not used as a screening test.

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Condition tags

mesh:D004715endometriosis

MeSH descriptors

Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Female Humans Laparoscopy Sensitivity and Specificity

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 (51)

Cited by (45)

Source provenance

europepmc
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License: CC0 · commercial use OK