Small study: focused ultrasound for uterine fibroids explored.(Gynecology)

CHICAGO -- Despite only a modest change in uterine fibroid volume, focused ultrasound guided by MRI resulted in a marked symptomatic improvement in the majority of 23 women treated as part of a multicenter Israeli study.

"As we saw, the average fibroid volume reduction was 17%; however, the symptomatic improvement was marked in 83% of the women," Dr. Miriam Sklair-Levy said at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America.

MRI-guided focused ultrasound (FUS) is commercially available in Europe and lsrael and is awaiting approval from the Food and Drug Administration. Questions remain as to the effect of FUS on fertility, the duration of improvement in symptoms, and the risk of recurring fibroids.

Dr. Sklair-Levy said MRI-guided ultrasound is a noninvasive surgical treatment for uterine fibroids, particularly when thermal mapping is used.

However, further studies are needed to identify the ideal candidate for the treatment. "So far we can say that it is better to treat patients with singular or up to four fibroids, that large submucosal fibroids should be excluded, and that patients with multiple fibroids should consider uterine embolization," said Dr. Sklair-Levy with the Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem.

In the current study, the average fibroid volume was ...