Plasma protein patterns linked to long-term pelvic pain in endometriosis from teens to adults
Official title: Identifying plasma proteomic profiles of chronic pain development in endometriosis from adolescence to adulthood
Funded at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center · NIH-11387137 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks for blood protein patterns that show which adolescents and young adults with endometriosis are likely to develop long-lasting pelvic pain.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Seattle, United States) |
| Project start | September 19, 2023 |
| Project end | August 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2023 |
| Award (this year) | $1,611,494 |
| NIH project number | 7DP2HD112176-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11387137 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adolescents and young adults diagnosed with endometriosis who can provide blood samples and attend follow-up visits are the ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People without endometriosis or those with long-established chronic pain may not directly benefit from these early-stage biomarker findings.
What this research studies
You would be asked to give blood samples and information about your pain over time so researchers can measure many proteins in your plasma. They will compare people whose pain becomes chronic with those whose pain gets better to find protein patterns tied to persistent pelvic pain. The work focuses on adolescents and young adults because chronic pain often starts during these years. Finding these patterns could help spot people at risk early and guide better pain care.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could help doctors identify people at risk for chronic pelvic pain earlier and tailor treatments to reduce long-term pain and opioid use.
How similar studies have gone: Proteomic methods have found useful biomarkers in other pain and gynecologic conditions, but using plasma proteomics to predict chronic pelvic pain in adolescents with endometriosis is largely new.
Where this research is happening
-
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
Seattle, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Sasamoto, Naoko — Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
- Study coordinator: Sasamoto, Naoko
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.