A simple saliva test will be launched in Belgium this year to determine whether women with heavy menstrual pain have endometriosis.
Endometriosis is a chronic condition in which cells that resemble the uterine lining (endometrium) occur outside the uterus. The cells can proliferate there and form spots, cysts or nodules. This can happen on the bladder, ureters, intestines or ovaries and can lead to severe menstrual pain and/or pain during sex, urination and defecation.
"One in ten women suffer from this in Belgium," Professor Jasper Verguts, coordinator of the expertise centre for endometriosis at the Jessa Hospital in Hasselt, told Belga News Agency. "It is more common than diabetes."
Currently, the disease can only be detected with more invasive testing methods such as an MRI scan or an ultrasound, but Verguts explained that those examinations miss endometriomas in a number of women.
70% to 90% accuracy
"In some women with severe complaints or fertility problems, it is then necessary to perform keyhole surgery to determine what is wrong and to detect endometriosis," Verguts stated. With the new test, only a sample of saliva needs to be sent to a lab for analysis.
The saliva collection must be done by a doctor because the test must be viewed in a clinical context. Ziwig claims that the saliva test offers more than 95% certainty in detecting endometriosis, but Verguts added that the test has not yet been sufficiently clinically validated.
"The study involved women who had complaints that pointed to endometriosis, but we do not know what that will mean in practice. What will that test indicate if women who have no complaints use it? Questions remain and it will be necessary to find out for whom the test will be most appropriate in practice."
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Yet, Verguts expects a detection rate of 70% to 90%. "In the general population, you will have a lot of factors that will influence that test and that will still give a more false picture, so you will end up with a lower percentage of certainty."
The test, which is expected to become available in Belgium this year, will cost €800.
