Focused ultrasound effective against fibroids

For women with fibroids, treatment with focused ultrasound guided by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) seems to relieve symptoms well, researchers report.

“This is the first large study using MR-guided focused ultrasound surgery for uterine fibroids and demonstrates successful symptom reduction at 6 and 12 months with a low rate of adverse events,” lead investigator Dr. Elizabeth A. Stewart told Reuters Health.

Stewart, of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston and colleagues note in the medical journal Fertility and Sterility that fibroids lead to more than a third of hysterectomies.

To assess the outcome of a less invasive approach using ultrasound, the investigators studied 109 women with symptomatic fibroids who underwent a single treatment session.

The procedure involves imaging the uterus using MRI, then focusing high-energy ultrasound on the fibroids. This heats up the target tissue and kills it.

After six months, 71 percent of the women achieved a 10-point reduction in the Uterine Fibroid Quality-of-Life scale, which measured 61.1 on average at the start of the study. Moreover, there was a much greater-than-expected average decrease of 23.8 in the score.

After a year, in the 82 women evaluated, 51 percent met the goal of a 10-point improvement. The average score was 38.8, still significantly below that seen at the start of the study.

“We are continuing to follow these women for at least three years and will continued to report on this cohort and hope to demonstrate sustained efficacy with this treatment,” Dr. Stewart said.

SOURCE: Fertility and Sterility, January 2006.

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