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Treatment for endometriosis is currently limited to surgical removal of cysts and lesions, pain relief, and hormone therapies, such as the contraceptive pill or ...

The hope is that a better understanding of the molecular underpinnings of the disease will enable the development of more targeted therapies, as it has for cancer. This resource can now be used by researchers all throughout the world to study specific cell types that they specialise in, which will hopefully lead to more efficient and effective diagnosis and treatment for endometriosis patients. “We were able to identify the molecular differences between the major subtypes of endometriosis, including peritoneal disease [affecting the abdominal cavity] and ovarian endometrioma. To better understand the disease, Lawrenson and her colleagues analysed more than 400,000 cells from 21 patients, some of whom had endometriosis and others who were disease-free. Patients with the disorder can experience chronic pain, infertility, headaches and fatigue, as well as bowel and bladder dysfunction. But why does endometriosis behave like cancer while rarely becoming cancer?”