Proteomics International Laboratories Ltd (ASX: PIQ) has received positive results from an early version of the company’s potential world-first blood test for endometriosis, which has successfully detected up to 78% of people with the painful condition.
The results are being presented at the Fertility Society of Australia and New Zealand Annual Conference (FSANZ 2022) being held in Sydney, 30 July – 2 August 2022.
Endometriosis is a common and painful disease that affects one in nine women and girls, often starting in teenagers. It occurs when tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows into other parts of the body where it does not belong.
At the moment, there is no simple way to test for the condition, which often causes pain and infertility, and costs Australia $9.7 billion each year.
The current gold standard for detection is an invasive laparoscopy, a surgical procedure where a camera is inserted into the pelvis through a small cut in the abdominal wall. On average, it takes women 7.5 years to be diagnosed.
Proteomics International Managing Director Dr Richard Lipscombe said that while the test’s diagnostic performance is promising, we expect it can be further developed to make it even more accurate.
“It is exciting to have a simple blood test that may be able to correctly diagnose endometriosis in 70- 80 per cent of cases. At the same time, we’re optimistic we can refine the test to further improve the sensitivity and specificity and make it more accurate for patients.
“Until now, the standard of care to test for endometriosis has been through an invasive surgical procedure,” he said.
“The results are highly encouraging and a significant start in the development of a potential world first simple blood test, that could diagnose this disease earlier and without an invasive surgery.”
The company anticipates that this additional analysis will be completed in stages over the next 2-6 months.
If successful, the outcome would be a clinically validated blood test(s) able to offer simpler and earlier diagnosis of endometriosis or the disease’s sub-categories.
Proteomics International believes a validated test will garner significant interest, both commercially and in the clinic.
