The inflammatory profile of endometriosis
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Investigating the immune and inflammatory landscape of endometriosis
IRAS ID
328131
Contact name
April Rees
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Swansea University
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 11 months, 31 days
Research summary
Endometriosis is a debilitating condition which occurs due to ectopic growth of endometrial tissue and is thought to be related to excess production of oestrogen. It takes an average diagnosis time of 7.5 years in the UK, affects 10% of women, and costs the UK economy £8.2 billion per year. The current gold-standard for diagnosis of endometriosis is a type of keyhole surgery called a laparoscopy, which comes with its own risks. In Wales alone it takes on average 26 visits to the doctor before a diagnosis. The burden of diagnosing this disease then, is an astronomical burden on healthcare services as well as the women, not to mention the psychological impact of surgery. Here, we will investigate an alternative diagnostic approach that we propose provides a broad inflammatory status of the woman if it can identify those with endometriosis. This will use vibrational spectroscopy of blood serum to provide a molecular fingerprint unique to each study participant. We will also identify the molecules that contribute to any endometriosis-associated Raman fingerprint from the blood and ectopic tissue using a range of laboratory-based approaches as this will inform the test development and improve our understanding of the disease mechanisms. Overall, this project will contribute significantly to improving women’s reproductive health.
REC name
South Central - Berkshire B Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/SC/0332
Date of REC Opinion
1 Nov 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion