Research efforts towards improving our understanding of endometriosis are slow. Relative to breast cancer, which demonstrates >489,000 citations in PubMed in the last 40 years, there are only 31,500 citations for endometriosis. Biobanks are essential for increasing the scale of clinical research and progressing towards a cure for endometriosis. The Julia Argyrou Endometriosis Centre at Epworth (JAECE) established its biobank (2023) with the aim of collecting comprehensive patient and surgical information, and a variety of biospecimens, to strengthen collaborative research.
The JAECE Biobank was established as a single centre prospective study, recruiting patients aged ≥18 years, pre-menopausal, not pregnant/breastfeeding, and planning surgery/hysteroscopy for suspected endometriosis or other benign gynaecological condition. Following consent, participants complete a baseline questionnaire and approval to access imaging. At surgery, biospecimens and surgeon’s questionnaire are collected. Post-surgery, surgical and histological reports are collected. Questionnaires and biospecimen processing steps are adapted from the World Endometriosis Research Foundation Endometriosis Phenome and Biobanking Harmonization Project.
In the first 12-months, the JAECE Biobank recruited 97 participants. We have 95 completed patient surveys and 81 completed surgeon’s surveys. Fifty-four participants had histology confirmed endometriosis (cases) and 30 were negative on histology (controls) (13 histology reports are pending). From endometriosis cases we have: 44 bloods, 45 endometrium, 7 myometrium, 27 peritoneal fluids and 97 lesions (from 48 participants). From non-endometriosis controls we have: 27 bloods, 24 endometrial tissues, 8 myometrial and 16 peritoneal fluids. The JAECE Biobank is registered with the World Endometriosis Research Foundation.
Building a biobank is key to delivering evidence-based clinical research for improved healthcare outcomes for endometriosis patients. This project demonstrates the successful establishment and 12-month operation of the JAECE Biobank, that aligns with international harmonisation criteria. Biobanks such as this, will bring us one step closer to improved, collaborative and larger-scale research that builds scientific knowledge.