A 3D PDMS Scaffold Microchip Platform for Non-Invasive Detection of Circulating Endometrial Cells: Revolutionizing Endometriosis Diagnosis

Abstract

Objective

To address the urgent need for non-invasive diagnosis of  endometriosis, this study developed a novel microfluidic platform utilizing a three-dimensional (3D) polydimethylsiloxane scaffold microchip to efficiently capture circulating endometrial cells (CECs).

Methods

A prospective single-center study was performed from June 2022 to June 2023. Presurgical peripheral blood was collected from 42 patients with endometriosis and 20 controls. Microchips were functionalized with antibodies against epithelial cellular adhesion molecule (EpCAM) and cluster of differentiation 10 (CD10). They were used to capture and identify CECs for diagnostic evaluation.

Results

The presence of CD10 was observed in 88.10% of cases (37/42), significantly higher than in controls (35%, 7/20, P < 0.001). Similarly, the levels of EpCAM were detected in 52.38% of cases (22/42) and 30% of controls (6/20, P = 0.25). In preoperative diagnosis, integrating CECs with clinical parameters achieved superior accuracy (AUC = 0.870) compared to CA125 (AUC = 0.813) and clinical-only models (AUC = 0.606–0.923). When comparing CEC levels before and after surgery, the CEC-integrated clinical model demonstrated robust diagnostic performance (AUC = 0.877).

Conclusion

This 3D microfluidic platform enables precise, convenient, and non-invasive endometriosis identification via efficient CEC capture, offering significant potential for clinical translation.

Keywords

Endometriosis / Circulating endometrial cells / Non-invasive diagnosis / Microfluidics / Biomarkers / Polydimethylsiloxane / CD10 / EpCAM

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Funding

the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2022YFC2704100)

Knowledge Innovation Program of Wuhan -Basic Research(2023020201010041)

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

The Author(s), under exclusive licence to the Huazhong University of Science and Technology

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