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Mayo Clinic study finds focused ultrasound treatment of uterine fibroids long term symptom relief
July 31, 2007ROCHESTER, Minn. -- A noninvasive, outpatient treatment for noncancerous uterine tumors provides sustained relief from symptoms, according to a new Mayo Clinic led collaborative study.
The study of this innovative treatment approach -- called magnetic resonance imaging guided focused ultrasound surgery (MRgFUS) -- also shows that the more completely tumors are destroyed by focused ultrasound, the more durable the symptom relief. In addition, the incidence of severe side effects is low. Combined, these results produce an overall improved quality of life. The report by Mayo and its collaborators, the Magnetic Resonance Imaging Guided Focused Ultrasound for Uterine Fibroid Group at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, appears in the Aug. 1 issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology (http://www.greenjournal.org/future/110.2.shtml).
Significance of the Mayo Clinic Collaboration
This new study examined more endpoints and follows women for a longer period after treatment than previous studies of the effects of focused ultrasound to treat uterine fibroid tumors. For example, the current study followed patients post-treatment for twice as long -- 24 months versus 12 months -- than earlier studies. It also followed a patient group that was more than twice as large -- 359 women versus 160 women. The results are therefore stronger than those from earlier studies, and more clinically relevant in their potential to:
* improve patient care by decreasing the need for repeat tumor-removal procedures.
* keep health care costs down, given that treating fibroid tumors constitutes a significant health care expenditure, particularly if it involves major surgery such as hysterectomy, or requires multiple, repeat procedures of the traditionally used noninvasive therapies that include abdominal and laparoscopic tumor removal, or uterine artery embolization.
Explains Mayo Clinic reproductive endocrinologist Elizabeth Stewart, M.D., the study's lead author: "Up to one-third of women who undergo alternatives to hysterectomy to treat fibroids experience recurrence of fibroids, so demonstrating the durability of focused ultrasound is important. Our study does this by examining rates of subsequent surgery for fibroid tumor symptoms and other key outcomes such as uterine shrinkage. Finally, our study demonstrates that the more completely you treat the fibroids, the better the outcomes are."
Evidence indicates that this novel technology, in the hands of experienced care-giving teams, is an effective, durable treatment for uterine fibroid tumors that safely produces sustained relief of symptoms, Dr. Stewart says.
Mayo Clinic
This new study examined more endpoints and follows women for a longer period after treatment than previous studies of the effects of focused ultrasound to treat uterine fibroid tumors. For example, the current study followed patients post-treatment for twice as long -- 24 months versus 12 months -- than earlier studies. It also followed a patient group that was more than twice as large -- 359 women versus 160 women. The results are therefore stronger than those from earlier studies, and more clinically relevant in their potential to:
* improve patient care by decreasing the need for repeat tumor-removal procedures.
* keep health care costs down, given that treating fibroid tumors constitutes a significant health care expenditure, particularly if it involves major surgery such as hysterectomy, or requires multiple, repeat procedures of the traditionally used noninvasive therapies that include abdominal and laparoscopic tumor removal, or uterine artery embolization.
Explains Mayo Clinic reproductive endocrinologist Elizabeth Stewart, M.D., the study's lead author: "Up to one-third of women who undergo alternatives to hysterectomy to treat fibroids experience recurrence of fibroids, so demonstrating the durability of focused ultrasound is important. Our study does this by examining rates of subsequent surgery for fibroid tumor symptoms and other key outcomes such as uterine shrinkage. Finally, our study demonstrates that the more completely you treat the fibroids, the better the outcomes are."
Evidence indicates that this novel technology, in the hands of experienced care-giving teams, is an effective, durable treatment for uterine fibroid tumors that safely produces sustained relief of symptoms, Dr. Stewart says.
Mayo Clinic
Uterine Fibroids News and Current Uterine Fibroids Events RSSMajor surgery no longer needed for the removal of uterine fibroids
The treatment of uterine fibroids with 3T MR-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) is safe, non-invasive and effective, according to a recent study conducted by researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, NY.
Minimally invasive fibroid treatment fares well in multicenter trial
A new multicenter trial found that uterine artery embolization (UAE) is a good alternative to hysterectomy in women with symptomatic fibroids. The findings of the Embolisation versus Hysterectomy (EMMY) Trial appear in the March issue of the journal Radiology.
Focused ultrasound relieves fibroid symptoms in women
A noninvasive ultrasound procedure effectively shrinks uterine fibroids and significantly relieves fibroid-related symptoms in women.
Enhanced MR-guided focused ultrasound guidelines demonstrate improved efficacy and durability
Data released today show that MR-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) is a more effective option for a broader population of uterine fibroid sufferers.
MicroRNAs Can Be Tumor Suppressors
University of Virginia researchers have discovered that microRNAs, a form of genetic material, can function as tumor suppressors in laboratory studies.
MicroRNAs as tumor suppressors
In the May 1st issue of G&D, Drs. Yong Sun Lee and Anindya Dutta (UVA) reveal that microRNAs can function as tumor suppressors in vitro.
Chance of hysterectomy predicted by multi-year study
A woman's chance of undergoing a hysterectomy can now be accurately predicted, according to new UCSF study findings.
Rochester study rolls out RU-486 to treat uterine fibroids
Low doses of the drug mifepristone shrink uterine fibroid tumors and greatly improve the quality of life in women who suffer from pain and heavy bleeding.
Penn researchers start new clinical trial to examine ways to improve treatment of uterine fibroids
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine are working on ways to improve the results of a non-surgical method to treat fibroids.
Harmful chemicals may reprogram gene response to estrogen
New research shows that exposure to harmful chemicals and drugs during critical developmental periods early in life may actually "reprogram" the way certain genes respond to the female hormone estrogen. This genetic reprogramming may determine whether people with a genetic predisposition for a disease actually develop the disease.
More Uterine Fibroids News Articles
 | Healing Fibroids: A Doctor's Guide to a Natural Cure by Allan Warshowsky An Exciting New Approach to Regaining Health Without Surgery!Fact: By the time they reach menopause 40 percent of American women have at least one uterine fibroid; 600,000 women are diagnosed each year.Fact: Fibroids are the leading cause of hysterectomy, the second most common surgical procedure performed on women.Fact: Natural, holistic medicine can heal fibroids without invasive... |
 | What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Fibroids: New Techniques and Therapies--Including Breakthrough Alternatives to Hysterectomy by Scott C. Goodwin, David Drum, Michael Broder Fibroid tumors are the leading reason why more than 500,000 American women have hysterectomies each year. Fibroids are benign tumors that arise from the smooth muscle layer of the uterus. As they grow larger, they can put pressure on neighboring organs and tissues, causing pain, bleeding, and fertility problems in many women. Unfortunately, many women are not informed of their full treatment... |
 | Fibroids: The Complete Guide to Taking Charge of Your Physical, Emotional and Sexual Well-Being by Johanna Skilling One out of every four women in the United States has uterine fibroids. Yet all too often they're left with more questions than answers. In this fully revised and updated edition of Fibroids, Johanna Skilling, who suffers from fibroids herself, offers a total resource for women with the condition. Skilling covers the full range of issues related to fibroids, including testing and treatment... |
 | Uterine Fibroids: The Complete Guide (A Johns Hopkins Press Health Book) by Elizabeth A. Stewart You've called in sick today. Your back and legs hurt. Your abdomen is bloated and more than a little uncomfortable. You are having your period, and the bleeding is so heavy you can't even think about leaving the house. You have uterine fibroids.One in every four women see their lives affected by uterine fibroids, which can cause heavy bleeding, abdominal bloating, pain, and infertility. The... |
 | It's a Sistah Thing: A Guide to Understanding and Dealing with Fibroids for Black Women by Monique Brown |
 | Sex, Lies, and the Truth about Uterine Fibroids by Carla Dionne The most authoritative book available on uterine fibroids. Approximately one in four women in the United States will be diagnosed with uterine fibroids in her lifetime. And for many women, the only course of treatment they may be offered is hysterectomy. As a result, hysterectomy is the number-one surgical procedure undergone by women in the United States, with some forty-five percent of these... |
 | Fibroids: The Complete Guide to Taking Charge of Your Physical, Emotional, and Sexual Well-Being by Johanna Skilling Fibroids are "solid lumps of muscle and connective tissue" that grow in and around the uterus and are almost always benign. They are the result of "a single cell gone wild," but why this happens is a mystery. They affect from 20 to 80 percent of women. Although some women have no symptoms, others experience abnormal uterine bleeding and pelvic pain or pressure. Fibroids can trigger miscarriage,... |
 | The First Year--Fibroids: An Essential Guide for the Newly Diagnosed by Johanna Skilling Though an estimated eight in ten women in America will be diagnosed with fibroids during their lifetime, it remains one of the most ambiguous conditions a woman can have. In the tradition of the other titles in the First Year series, The First Year—Fibroids uses a unique approach, guiding readers through practical and straightforward steps for the first seven days following diagnosis, then... |
 | Fibroid Tumor and Endometriosis Self Help Book by Susan M. Lark |
 | Fibroid Tumors Healed Naturally: A Personal Journey Shared With Specific How-To's by Faye Hardaway This book was written by a woman who was actually healed naturally of fibroid tumors and is supported by a foreword written by a board certified doctor, obstetrician /... |
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