For many women, receiving a diagnosis of endometriosis can take years. A pilot study at Oxford University now suggests that a new scanning technique may help detect the condition earlier. The method combines specialised CT imaging with a molecular tracer to identify areas of early endometriosis, which are often missed by conventional scans.
Researchers say that if validated in larger studies, the technique could provide women with earlier explanations for their symptoms. Endometriosis, which affects one in ten women in the UK, is a painful condition where tissue similar to the womb lining grows in other parts of the body. On average, it takes about nine years to secure a diagnosis. Symptoms can be severe and varied—ranging from heavy periods and abdominal pain to extreme fatigue—often resembling other medical conditions.
People frequently end up undergoing several tests, including ultrasounds and sometimes MRI scans. But these standard scans do not always pick up on the disease and mainly detect changes that often appear with more advanced diseases, says Dr Tatjana Gibbons, lead researcher on the study. “This means many struggle with symptoms, despite being told they have normal imaging results. “Getting a diagnosis earlier can help people make decisions and plans about their life,” Dr Gibbons adds.
‘A very long journey’
Gabriella Pearson, co‑founder of the Menstrual Health Project charity, was diagnosed with endometriosis at age 23 after more than a decade of worsening symptoms and repeated misdiagnoses. Now 33, she reflects that had she been “listened to and diagnosed earlier, she would be in a very different position today.”
The condition has affected her bowel, bladder, and ovary, leaving lasting damage. “Because of the pain and complications, I wasn’t able to pursue my career or attend university,” Pearson explained. She added that the impact extends beyond physical health, affecting mental well‑being, finances, employment, and fertility. “If people are diagnosed earlier and given a better chance at quality of life from a younger age, it could make a real difference,” she said.
Pearson was just 10 when her debilitating periods started, leaving her in agony.
Over the years she developed painful stomach issues with everything she ate.
She was told it was “part of being a woman”, then it was put down to irritable bowel syndrome or stress.
She went back and forth to doctors for six years before finding a GP who said she was likely to have endometriosis.
“It has been a very long journey and we definitely need more accuracy when it comes to scans,” says Pearson.
“We deserve something that is more consistent and reliable for patients and is non-invasive as well.
“For me, I really struggled with an invasive ultrasound, which was very painful.”
Her ultrasound was interpreted differently by different doctors.
Years later, she went on to have surgery – a laparoscopy – to get a definitive diagnosis because she felt she really needed to know what was going on.
New findings ‘really exciting’
Though people can be offered some treatments without a definitive diagnosis, the only way to get a definitive diagnosis at the moment is through a laparoscopy – where a small camera is inserted through a small cut in the abdomen. This can take years to happen.
In the study, 19 people with confirmed or suspected endometriosis had a specialised SPECT-CT scan along with an injection of a molecular tracer called maraciclatide. It attached to areas where new blood vessels were forming – thought to be a key part of early endometriosis growth.
The new technique was able to correctly detect the presence or absence of endometriosis in 16 women.
And it correctly picked up 14 of the 17 cases of endometriosis that were later confirmed by surgery.
Dr Gibbons says the findings are “exciting”.
The technique “offers a highly promising diagnostic and monitoring tool, particularly for superficial peritoneal endometriosis [thought to be an early form of the disease] which is the most common and yet the hardest type of endometriosis to identify”. Dr Lucy Whitaker, gynaecologist and researcher at the University of Edinburgh, who was not involved in the study, says there is a “desperate need for new non-invasive imaging techniques”.
“This is a really exciting preliminary data that needs further studies,” she says. “If confirmed, that gives us a real opportunity to intervene at an earlier stage – and help people get a diagnosis and potentially consider treatment earlier on.” The new technique could have a role in investigating how the disease changes over time and how different treatment options work too.
Dr Whitaker adds that the scans and tracer involve exposure to radiation, which needs consideration and to be put in the context of the risks of having a laparoscopy for example
The work is published in the journal Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Women’s Health and led by the Nuffield department of women’s and reproductive health at the University of Oxford and Serac Healthcare.
Symptoms to watch out for:
- severe period pain that stops you doing normal activities
- heavy periods
- extreme tiredness
- pain in the lower abdomen, back and pelvic area
- pain when urinating or pooing
- pain during or after sex
- pain or bleeding in other areas including the chest
- difficulties getting pregnant
- low mood
Source: https://www.graphic.com.gh/
