Two New Blood Tests for Endometriosis Are Coming to the NHS—Here's What That Means

England and Wales will soon offer two new diagnostic tests for endometriosis on the NHS. The health authority NICE gave them draft approval on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, clearing the way for use in hospitals and clinics across both regions Guardian.

The two tests work in completely different ways. Endotest analyzes a saliva sample sent to a lab, looking for biological markers in the saliva linked to endometriosis — tiny RNA sequences that signal the disease. Lab studies show it catches endometriosis in over 95% of cases Medscape. EndoSure uses sensor pads placed on the abdomen to measure electrical signals from the gut. When endometriosis causes scarring and lesions in the pelvis, it changes those signals. EndoSure gives a result in just 45 minutes Guardian. A third test, called DotEndo, did not get approved — NICE said the evidence for it needs more work.

The tests won't replace the gold standard: diagnostic laparoscopy, a surgical procedure where a doctor looks inside the abdomen with a camera. Instead, they're designed as a middle step. NICE says they should be used for women whose symptoms suggest endometriosis, whose first physical exam was normal, and who have either had imaging tests (like ultrasound or MRI) that showed nothing, or haven't had imaging yet. Think of them as a way to narrow down who really needs surgery, rather than a complete replacement for it.

Why This Matters

Endometriosis diagnosis has a serious problem: it takes far too long. The average time from when a woman first notices symptoms to getting a confirmed diagnosis in the UK is nine years and four months Guardian. That's because diagnosing endometriosis is hard. Symptoms overlap with other conditions. Specialist doctors are stretched thin. And until now, the only definitive diagnosis has required surgery.

Doctors who treat endometriosis see real promise in these new tools. Dr Gail Busby, a consultant gynaecologist at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, called them a "gamechanger" Guardian. The advocacy group Endometriosis UK also backed the move, describing non-invasive tests as a way to speed up diagnosis in NHS settings NICE.

How This Will Work — For Now

NICE isn't saying these tests are permanent yet. Instead, they've approved them for a three-year trial period. During these three years, the NHS will collect real-world data on how well the tests actually work when used across different hospitals and clinics, not just in controlled research settings. After three years, NICE will decide whether to recommend them permanently, change how they're used, or stop using them altogether. This is a standard approach for new medical technologies — it lets the NHS test whether something works in practice, not just in theory.

The real question over the next three years won't be the impressive lab numbers (like Endotest's 95% accuracy). It will be what happens when these tests get used at scale across NHS England and Wales, with different doctors, different patient populations, and real waiting-list pressures. Lab results can look very good in controlled conditions. Real hospitals are messier. Hospitals also need to watch for false positives (tests saying someone has endometriosis when they don't) and false negatives (tests missing cases).

The Bigger Challenge Ahead

Getting a faster diagnosis is valuable, but it only solves half the problem. Confirming endometriosis faster doesn't automatically free up specialist gynaecologists to treat women faster, or operating theatres for surgery, or pain management services. If diagnosis speeds up but treatment capacity stays the same, the bottleneck simply moves downstream. A woman might now learn she has endometriosis in months instead of nine years—but then wait another year for specialist care.

This is something NICE and NHS leaders will need to watch carefully over the next three years. Accelerating diagnosis without scaling up the services that follow could create a different kind of backlog. The real test of these new tests won't be their laboratory accuracy alone. It will be whether they actually improve how quickly and effectively women with endometriosis get treated.