Clinical outcomes of focused ultrasound surgery for the treatment of uterine fibroids

Objective

To assess outcomes at 6 and 12 months after magnetic resonance–guided focused ultrasound surgery (MRgFUS) for symptomatic uterine leiomyomas.

Design

Multicenter clinical trial.

Setting

Academic medical centers.

Patient(s)

Premenopausal women with symptomatic uterine leiomyomas and no plans for future pregnancy (n = 109 at 6 months and n = 82 at 12 months).

Intervention(s)

A single treatment session of MRgFUS for uterine fibroids.

Main Outcome Measure(s)

Reduction in fibroid symptoms as measured by the symptom severity score (SSS) of the Uterine Fibroid Quality-of-Life Instrument (UFS-QOL), the only validated measure of leiomyoma symptomatology. A 10-point reduction in the SSS was selected as the targeted improvement.

Result(s)

Seventy-one percent of women undergoing MRgFUS reached the targeted symptom reduction at 6 months, and 51% reached this at 12 months. The magnitude of improvement in SSS was greater than predicted, with subjects having a mean decrease of 39% and 36% at 6 and 12 months, respectively. This paralleled the improvement seen using the short form-36 instrument. A modest volume reduction similar in magnitude to the treated volume was seen. The incidence of adverse events was low.

Conclusion(s)

MRgFUS treatment results in short-term symptom reduction for women with symptomatic uterine leiomyomas with an excellent safety profile.

Key Words:  Leiomyomas , focused ultrasound , magnetic resonance imaging