Endometrial antibodies versus CA-125 for the detection of endometriosis.

Detection of endometrial antibodies using an indirect immunofluorescence method along with a well-established human endometrial carcinoma cell line was evaluated and compared with CA-125 for detecting endometriosis. Two hundred two patient sera from the infertility, gynecological, and gynecological oncology services were evaluated. The sensitivity for antibody testing was 83.1% with a specificity of 78.8%, in contrast to a sensitivity of 27.3% and a specificity of 82.6% for CA-125. These preliminary findings offer promise that antibody detection methods may be a useful adjunct in the diagnosis of endometriosis.