Ultrasound Surgery Provides Longterm Relief from Fibroid Tumors, Study Concludes

Although no one knows exactly what causes fibroid tumors, scientists may have a noninvasive treatment for them that relieves symptoms. This conclusion comes after the results of a new Mayo Clinic led collaborative study shows that using magnetic resonance imaging guided focused ultrasound surgery (MRgFUS) can destroy tumors and alleviate symptoms according to a press release published by the clinic.

The origins of fibroid tumors are a mystery but over one third of women over the age of 35 is believed to have them. Although some fibroid tumors can be present without the woman feeling symptoms, some cause pressure on the bladder and heavy menstrual bleeding that can cause anemia. Some benign tumors have been known to grow to the size of cantaloupes. It is estimated that fibroid tumors are responsible for 180,000 hysterectomies each year.

The study focused on the use of magnetic resonance imaging guided focused ultrasound surgery and found that the more completely the tumor was destroyed the greater likelihood the patient would experience longer symptom relief. Also, the use of this technology limits sever side affects.

It is believed that the use of this technology will improve the quality of live for patients with fibroid tumors. The results of the study, titled the "Magnetic Resonance Imaging Guided Focused Ultrasound for Uterine Fibroid Group at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School", appears in the August 1 issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

Unlike other studies, this research followed woman for a longer period of time and used a larger group of patients. Post treatment patients were followed for 24 months, unlike other studies, where follow ups were only conducted for 12 months. The patient group was also more than twice as large as previous studies.

Possible benefits of the treatment found in the study were numerous. The procedure keeps health care costs low by preventing the need for hysterectomies or repeated fibroid removals. It also improved the quality of the life for the patient by limiting the need for repeated procedures.

"Up to one-third of women who undergo alternatives to hysterectomy to treat fibroids experience recurrence of fibroids," explains Mayo Clinic reproductive endocrinologist Elizabeth Stewart, M.D., the study's lead author in a press release. "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."

SOURCES:

"Mayo Clinic Collaborative Study Finds Focused Ultrasound Treatment of Uterine Fibroid Tumors Provides Long Term Symptom Relief." Mayo Clinic. URL: (http://www.mayoclinic.org/news2007-rst/4171.html)