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

ObjectiveTo assess outcomes at 6 and 12 months after magnetic resonance–guided focused ultrasound surgery (MRgFUS) for symptomatic uterine leiomyomas.DesignMulticenter clinical trial.SettingAcademic 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.