MenstrualEndo

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Characterising the inflammatory landscape of menstrual blood before and after laparoscopic surgery for endometriosis

• IRAS ID

  370972

• Contact name

  April Rees

• Contact email

  april.rees@swansea.ac.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  Swansea Univesity

• Duration of Study in the UK

  4 years, 2 months, 30 days

• Research summary

  Endometriosis is a common and debilitating condition that is difficult to diagnose, with women in the UK waiting on average around nine years and undergoing many clinical visits before receiving confirmation. The current gold-standard diagnostic method—laparoscopy—is invasive, carries risks, and places a significant burden on both patients and healthcare services.
  Core issue:

  Diagnosis is slow, invasive, and resource-intensive
  Women experience delays, repeated consultations, and psychological strain
  There is a significant economic and healthcare burden

  What the research is aiming to address:
  The study is tackling the need for a faster, less invasive diagnostic method by exploring whether biological markers (particularly from menstrual blood) can identify endometriosis. It seeks to:

  Detect a distinct biological “fingerprint” of the condition
  Use non-surgical samples (menstrual and blood samples) instead of surgery
  Improve understanding of the disease mechanisms

  In one sentence:
  The research aims to replace invasive, delayed diagnosis of endometriosis with a quicker, non-invasive test based on biological markers, reducing burden on patients and healthcare systems.

• REC name

  South Central - Hampshire B Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  26/SC/0229

• Date of REC Opinion

  10 Jul 2026

• REC opinion

  Favourable Opinion