Study summary · research use only
Fibroids (uterine myomatosis, leiomyomas)
Plain-language summary
Paraphrased from the published abstract below — not a verdict on whether anything works.
This systematic review examined treatments for uterine fibroids in women. The authors state that between 5-77% of women may have fibroids depending on the diagnostic method, that fibroids may be asymptomatic or present with menorrhagia, pain, infertility, or recurrent pregnancy loss, and that risk factors include obesity and having no children. They searched Medline, Embase, The Cochrane Library, and other databases up to November 2006 and included harms alerts from the FDA and MHRA, finding 41 systematic reviews, RCTs, or observational studies meeting inclusion criteria. The review presents information on interventions including gonadorelin analogues (with progestogen, raloxifene, tibolone, or combined oestrogen-progestogen), hysterectomy, ultrasound-focused approaches, laparoscopic myomectomy, endometrial ablation, thermal balloon ablation, thermal myolysis with laser, and various hysterectomy and myomectomy procedures, addressing medical, preoperative, and surgical questions.
Abstract
Between 5-77% of women may have fibroids, depending on the method of diagnosis used. Fibroids may be asymptomatic, or may present with menorrhagia, pain, infertility, or recurrent pregnancy loss. Risk factors for fibroids include obesity, having no children, and no long-term use of the oral contraceptive pill. Fibroids tend to shrink or fibrose after the menopause. We conducted a systematic review and aimed to answer the following clinical questions: What are the effects of: medical treatment alone; preoperative medical treatments for women scheduled for surgery; and surgical treatments in women with fibroids? We searched: Medline, Embase, The Cochrane Library and other important databases up to November 2006 (Clinical Evidence reviews are updated periodically, please check our website for the most up-to-date version of this review). We included harms alerts from relevant organisations such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). We found 41 systematic reviews, RCTs, or observational studies that met our inclusion criteria. We performed a GRADE evaluation of the quality of evidence for interventions. In this systematic review we present information relating to the effectiveness and safety of the following interventions: gonadorelin analogues (with progestogen, raloxifene, tibolone, or combined oestrogen-progestogen); hysterectomy (plus oophorectomy); hysteroscopic resonance-focused ultrasound; laparoscopic myomectomy; laparoscopically assisted vaginal hysterectomy; rollerball endometrial ablation; thermal balloon ablation; thermal myolysis with laser; total abdominal hysterectomy; total abdominal myomectomy; total laparoscopic hysterectomy; total vaginal hysterectomy.
pepmg summarizes the peer-reviewed literature and links to every source — it sells nothing, ships nothing, and gives no medical, dosing, or human-use guidance. Don't just trust this summary: follow the citation to its source and read it yourself. Research use only.