Interventional Radiology Treatment Could Decrease Hysterectomy Rate by One-Third

Fairfax, Virginia - Three-year data from the largest, multi-center, prospective voluntary registry on any procedure for benign uterine fibroids showed that 90 percent of the women participating avoided a hysterectomy and of these, 85 percent had a substantial improvement in symptoms and quality of life. The registry included three-year data on 1,278 patients from 26 sites who had this minimally invasive interventional radiology treatment for symptomatic fibroids, showing uterine fibroid embolization is a durable treatment for fibroids with sustained improvement in quality of life and symptom relief. Twenty to 40 percent of American women age 35 and older, and nearly 50 percent of pre-menopausal African American women, have uterine fibroids. Of the 600,000 hysterectomies performed annually in the United States, one-third of these are to relieve symptoms caused by fibroids. "This registry data is great news for women. With uterine fibroid embolization, we could significantly decrease the hysterectomy rate in the United States" says Scott Goodwin, MD, interventional radiologist and lead author.

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