Diagnosis of endometriosis in the 21st century

L Kiesel, Ludwig Kiesel, Marina Sourouni, M Sourouni
Climacteric : the journal of the International Menopause Society · 2019 · vol. 22(3) , pp. 296–302 · doi:10.1080/13697137.2019.1578743 · PMID:30905186 · W2943217393
review OA: closed CC0 ⤵ 136 in-corpus citations
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-04 ⓘ

This review summarizes research on less invasive diagnostic methods for endometriosis, finding that imaging, genetic tests, biomarkers, and miRNAs show promise but require further study before clinical use.

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Abstract

Endometriosis is a common disease but, due to the wide spectrum of symptoms, diagnosis can be delayed 8-12 years. Laparoscopy is nowadays the gold standard for diagnosis. A less invasive method could shorten the time to diagnosis. The aim of this review is to systematically summarize the literature regarding possible less invasive methods for the diagnosis of endometriosis. Electronic databases, including MEDLINE/PubMed, Cochrane, and Google Scholar, were searched to identify relevant studies; 53 publications contributed to this review. Low invasive tests including imaging, genetic tests, biomarkers, or miRNAs could be the key for establishing a less invasive diagnosis of endometriosis. The findings generally support that different methods can differently contribute to the diagnosis, also depending on the type of endometriosis. For example, transvaginal ultrasound has a sensitivity of 93% and a specificity of 96% in the diagnosis of endometrioma, while superficial/peritoneal endometriosis cannot be detected with imaging processes. Although several non-invasive tests including imaging, genetic tests, biomarkers, or miRNAs show promising diagnostic potential, further research is required before they can be recommended in routine clinical care. The combination of low invasive tests may be the solution to a reliable low invasive diagnosis of endometriosis.

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Condition tags

mesh:D004715endometriosisendometrioma

MeSH descriptors

Endometriosis Biomarkers Biomarkers Diagnostic Imaging Endometriosis Endometriosis Female Humans Laparoscopy MEDLINE MicroRNAs Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide Sensitivity and Specificity Ultrasonography

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 (53)

Cited by (50)

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License: CC0 · commercial use OK