Less morbidity seen for high-intensity focused ultrasound of fibroids

(HealthDay)—High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) causes substantially less morbidity than surgery for treatment of uterine fibroids, with similar long-term quality of life (QoL), according to a study published online April 19 in BJOG.

Jinyun Chen, from Chongqing Medical University in China, and colleagues evaluated the clinical outcomes of HIFU and surgery in treating uterine fibroids among Chinese women with symptomatic fibroids participating in the multicenter IDEAL exploratory study. Of the 2,411 participants, 1,353 received HIFU, 472 hysterectomy and 586 myomectomy.

The researchers found that compared with surgery patients, HIFU patients were significantly younger, slimmer, better educated, and wealthier. After HIFU, both Uterine Fibroid Symptom score and QoL improved more rapidly than after surgery, although absolute differences were small. Major adverse events occurred in 0.2 percent of HIFU patients and in 12.6 percent of surgical cases.

"Despite group baseline differences and lack of blinding, these findings support the need for an RCT of HIFU treatment for fibroids," write the authors.

Several authors disclosed ties to Chongqing Haifu Medical Technology Inc., and one disclosed ties to NERCUM.