Proteomics on fast track to deliver simple endometriosis blood test
The company says its latest trial of its PromarkerEndo test has put it on a fast track to deliver the first clinically viable, real-world, non-invasive diagnostic test for a disease affecting one in nine women and girls and costing the Australian economy nearly $10 billion.
Over the weekend, Proteomics released the results of its latest trial, involving 704 blood plasma samples, to leading medical specialists and researchers at the prestigious World Congress on Endometriosis in Sydney.
The trial used a diagnostic test consolidated from earlier prototype models to compare cases of endometriosis with general population controls and symptomatic patients.
Proteomics said the trial delivered stunning accuracy in diagnosing cases across all stages of the debilitating disease.
'This is a major step forward in making non-invasive endometriosis diagnosis a reality.'
Proteomics International Laboratories managing director Dr Richard Lipscombe
In a sector where a diagnosis has traditionally taken an average of seven years and involved a painful and invasive laparoscopy and tissue biopsy, this simple blood test is poised to flip the script entirely.
For the first time, doctors may soon swap the scalpel for a simple fingerprick blood test, with PromarkerEndo positioned to become the frontline tool in detecting endometriosis in symptomatic patients. PromarkerEndo uses a universal 'traffic light' risk score - low, moderate or high - to indicate a patient's likelihood of having endometriosis. In validation trials, the test clocked an overall accuracy score of 0.92 and reached up to 98 per cent sensitivity in severe cases. It has a robust stage one accuracy performance of 89 per cent in early-stage disease, which is often the hardest to detect.
Proteomics International Laboratories managing director Dr Richard Lipscombe said: 'This is a major step forward in making non-invasive endometriosis diagnosis a reality. The advances support our commercialisation strategy and reinforce the potential for PromarkerEndo to become a standard part of the clinical diagnostic pathway.'
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