Endometriosis affects an estimated 10% of women in the reproductive-age group with a significant impact on their physical, mental, and social well-being. There is no known cure and most current medical treatments are not suitable long term due to their side effect profiles.

A major challenge in endometriosis continues to be the lack of funding for endometriosis research, the isolation of programmes within countries, inadequate communications among centres, and ineffeciencies of research when information and data are not shared.

To address these issues a World Endometriosis Society (WES) and World Endometriosis Research Foundation (WERF) consensus workshop was held on 15 March 2008 immediately following the 10th World Congress on Endometriosis in Melbourne, Australia.

The workshop was chaired by Peter Rogers, Australia, and was tasked with establishing recommendations for priorities in endometriosis research. Nine moderators explored an extensive list of topics grouped under five sub-headings:

1. Diagnosis
2. Classification and prognosis
3. Treatment and outcome
4. Epidemiology
5. Pathophysiology

The main conclusion was that there is a need for a multi-disciplinary approach to research in all aspects of endometriosis, to include reproductive medicine physicians, reproductive surgeons, biologists, pathologists, oncologists, epidemiologists, geneticists, immunologists, toxicologists, pain specialists, infectious disease specialists, bio-statesticians, bio-informatiicians, and others to enable effective, accurate, and timely diagnosis, determination of those at risk, and prevention and treatment of endometriosis, and associated disorders.

24 recommendations for research were developed, and have been published in Reproductive Sciences, which have made the paper* freely available to all WES members (Rogers PAW et al. Priorities for Endometriosis Research: Recommendations From an International Consensus Workshop. Reprod Sci 2009;16:335-346).

DOWNLOAD "Priorities for endometriosis research: recommendations from an international consensus workshop

The consensus statement will be revised and updated with a set of research priorities, building on the current document, in connection with the 11th World Congress on Endometriosis, which will be held from 4 - 7 September 2011 in Montpellier, France (www.wce2011.com).

In the meantime WES will be facilitating the collaboration of international collaborative research networks covering different disciplines/topics, and will work in conjunction with the mission of WERF to move research forward in the field of endometriosis according to these priorities.

For more information on how to participate in these networks please contact the World Endometriosis Society

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