Endometriosis: a new saliva test launched by a French company for rapid diagnosis

This test would make it possible to obtain a diagnosis in about ten days, whereas many women take years to find out what ailment they are suffering from.

Put an end to months, even years of medical wandering? This could soon be possible for women affected by endometriosis, a gynecological disease affecting 1 in 10 women and often long to diagnose, thanks to a French company. The Ziwig company has developed the Endotest, a saliva test allowing rapid detection of the disease, in just ten days, according to France News.

“We are talking about reducing this suffering from eight to ten years, it is not nothing so it must be done”, calls for the singer Imany, herself affected by the disease and member of the association of patients ENDOmind .

The road to diagnosis is indeed often long for women suffering from endometriosis. In his case, he had to wait 8 years before putting a word on his pain.

Endometriosis is characterized by the presence, outside the uterine cavity, of tissue similar to that of the lining of the uterus, called the endometrium, and causes recurrent pelvic pain. First cause of infertility in women, it is detected by ultrasound or MRI.

Prevent some women from being infertile

The Endotest works in a simple way: the patient spits into a tube and sends it to the laboratory, which performs DNA sequencing and detects, or not, the presence of the disease.

This saliva test was developed through a public-private partnership. The French company Ziwig developed the test, which was then evaluated in French hospitals on 200 women. The result was considered almost 100% reliable.

For Professor Philippe Descamps, of the Angers hospital, the test could allow earlier treatment of sick women, which would prevent some of them from becoming infertile. “As a practitioner, we had dreamed of this for years,” he rejoices with FranceInfo. The test must still be validated by the High Authority for Health.

The National Assembly voted unanimously in January for a resolution to recognize endometriosis as a long-term condition (ALD).