What is even more exciting is when an MRgFUS research study is so highly regarded that it wins an award. This was recently the case with a fertility study conducted by Mayo Clinic’s Dr. Elizabeth Stewart, a Fibroid Relief Advisory Board member. Dr. Stewart was presented with a Royan International Research Award in the category of Female Infertility and Reproductive Imaging on September 8 in Iran.

More important than the award, however, is what Dr. Stewart and her team learned from the research: that MRgFUS is a promising therapy for women who want to become pregnant after undergoing fibroid treatment. In the study – entitled “Safely Extending Focused Ultrasound Surgery for Uterine Leiomyomas to Women Who Desire Future Pregnancies” – the researchers found that the time to become pregnant following treatment was about the same as that for uterine artery embolization (UAE), a minimally invasive procedure that blocks the blood supply to fibroids. With MRgFUS, delivery rates were higher and cesarean section rates lower than with UAE.

Among the women in the study, 41 percent had a live birth following MRgFUS, and another 20 percent had an ongoing pregnancy beyond 20 weeks at the time of report. Sixty-four percent of the women were able to have a vaginal delivery. Importantly, there were no low birth weight infants and no pattern of complications for the baby or the mother.

The study itself, even without an international honor, represents a win for women. It provides further evidence that there are solid options out there for women with fibroids – especially those who don’t want fibroids to rob them of the possibility of having a child.

Learn more about MRgFUS

Find out about clinical trials for MRgFUS

The new site features a more accessible layout to help you get your hands on the details about the different treatment options available – from the more traditional hysterectomy to the new non-invasive focused ultrasound and everything in between. Also, extensive background on fibroids – including their causes and symptoms – can be found easily.

In addition to the “Fibroid Relief News” and “Fibroids in the News” blog sections that we are continuing from the previous site, we’ve created a special blog section specifically for guest bloggers. Though we have had patient advocates generate many blog posts in the past, we hope this new section will not only continue to allow patients to share their voices but will create a venue for doctors and researchers to post on our site as well.

Another exciting new feature is the Share Your Story section, which makes it easy for you to contribute your personal story of dealing with fibroids. We have heard from so many women that one of the most important forms of support they can receive is to hear that they are not alone in their struggles with fibroids. So, if you are comfortable with doing so, please share your story.

The feature that we are perhaps most thrilled about is the new Educational Video Series, which is discussed in detail in this post.

We hope you will be as excited about the new web site as we are. Please look around for yourself, and feel free to share pages, blogs, or videos with friends and family who may benefit from the information. 

The series includes nine videos, eight of which are hosted by physicians from the Fibroid Relief Advisory Board who generously gave of their time to help women better understand their options. The ninth video features one of our patient advocates, Jeri, who talks about her successful experience with MR-guided focused ultrasound in a clinical trial at the University of Virginia.

As an additional effort to help women learn about their options, we are also making available an interactive video of our Fibroid Relief At Last Houston event, held this past April. On the event discussion panel, you will recognize the physicians from the Educational Video Series – Drs. John Fischer, Denise Nebgen and Robert Zurawin – speaking in a more informal, but no less informative, manner. And you will hear powerful testimonies from two patients, Angela, who received a myomectomy and uterine fibroid embolization (UFE), and Yvonne, who was treated with MR-guided focused ultrasound (MRg-FUS). Importantly, the video is indexed, so you can click on only the information that appeals to you.

Our hope for these videos is that they will offer you an accessible way to learn more about what your options are. Of course, you need to talk with your physician about what treatment is right for your particular case, but it is important that you go into this conversation knowing what may be available to you. And we anticipate that these videos will help you get many of the answers you need.

The study, called Fibroid Interventions: Reducing Symptoms Today and Tomorrow (FIRSTT), will randomly assign women to be treated with either UAE or MRgFUS.  The study will follow patients for three years to assess how effective the treatments are in symptom relief, absence of side effects, impact on quality of life, need for additional treatment, and even the costs associated with each approach.

“Many women suffering from fibroids go to their local doctor and are offered hysterectomy to treat their fibroids, but are given no alternatives to surgery,” says Elizabeth A. Stewart, MD, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Mayo Clinic and Principal Investigator of the study. “Both UAE and FUS are excellent less invasive options for women, but we have very little scientific evidence comparing these two approaches.  The major goal of this important study is to generate information that will guide physicians and patients on the options that are right for them.”

The success of the FIRSTT trial depends on women participating in the research.  The study is now enrolling 220 women who can be treated at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota or Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.  To find out more about the study and whether you are eligible to participate, please click here.

If you want to engage in a Facebook group for women interested in the study, please follow this link.

Researchers at the University of Helsinki in Finland studied the genetic makeup of 225 fibroid tumors and discovered that 70 percent of them had mutations in a gene known as MED12. The gene produces a protein that, when disrupted, can possibly cause fibroid tumor growth.

What does this mean for fibroids, exactly? Well, we all have a unique genetic code that is passed down from our parents through our DNA. The expression of this genetic code happens in the form of proteins in that proteins function in our cells to impact the overall cell makeup. You can think of it like baking — the genetic code is the recipe; the proteins are the ingredients, and the whole cell is the cake. Mutations in genes are a bit like using baking soda rather than powder, in that they can cause things to go awry. Genetic mutations have been linked to diseases from color blindness to breast cancer. The identification of these mutations has a tremendous impact on diagnosis, therapy and outcomes, as we’ve seen in identification of genetic mutations associated with breast cancer leading to a dramatic improvement in care.

The University of Helsinki study is a breakthrough in research on fibroid genetics because this is the first time researchers have discovered a gene mutation that occurs at such high frequency in fibroids, according to a study report published recently in the journal Science.

Most significantly, for women suffering from fibroids, the knowledge of this genetic issue could lead to the development of targeted therapies to curb fibroid growth. But the lead researcher, Lauri Aaltonen, cautions that this is only the beginning of the journey toward creating this type of fibroid therapy. We’re cautiously optimistic that the identification of the mutation in the MED12 gene may be a key to impacting diagnosis, therapy and outcomes for fibroid care in the future.

Watch a YouTube video interview with the lead researcher.

Sources

Article from Science, August 25, 2011

Press release on the study from the University of Helsinki

Please note: dietary changes should not be a substitute for medical intervention in serious cases of fibroids.

• Increase dietary fiber. Fiber can help flush toxins from your body and possibly aid in balancing hormones. Increasing fiber also causes you to eat more healthfully because fiber is found in fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
• Avoid processed foods. Refined foods contain high doses of salt, sugar and fats, and lack many of the essential nutrients needed to maintain a healthy body. If you follow tip #1 and concentrate on eating fruits, veggies and whole grains, you can automatically get away from those pesky processed foods.
• Increase essential fatty acids. EFA’s are not produced by the body and thus must be included in the diet. Without them, your body cannot perform certain critical biological processes. Some good food sources include fish, shellfish, flaxseed (linseed), hemp oil, soya oil, canola (rapeseed) oil, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, leafy vegetables, and walnuts.
• Eat less red meat, including pork. Red meat increases estrogen, which encourages the growth of fibroids.
• Monitor your weight. Obesity has been associated with the presence of fibroids.

The good news is that these tips all point to the same thing: making healthful changes that can improve your overall well being.

Related Reading from Fibroid Relief

Got Milk? Possible Impact of Dairy on Fibroids
Reduce Estrogen with a Few Simple Changes
Additional Blogs on Obesity, BPA and GMO Foods

Sources

LiveStrong: Diets for Shrinking Fibroids
Wikipedia: Essential Fatty Acids
Risk Factors: National Uterine Fibroid Foundation

In the study, 40 women with fibroids were treated with focused ultrasound, an incision-free therapy that uses the heat from sound waves to kill fibroid tissue. The researchers followed up with these women at three and six months, as well as one, two and three years. They found that the largest decrease in fibroid size occurred within the first six months and continued to happen over the three-year period. Note: Even though the fibroid reduction happens over time, women typically report an immediate change in the pressure and protrusion from the fibroid because the focused ultrasound turns the fibroid into a sponge-like material.

The researchers also found that the women had significant symptom and quality-of-life improvements during the three-year follow-up period. In addition, there were no minor or major complications related to the treatment.

As with any treatment other than a hysterectomy, there is a chance that, following MRgFUS, the fibroids can come back. In the study, 69 percent of the women saw no need for additional treatment. Nine patients did obtain additional treatment – a hysterectomy, myomectomy or uterine artery embolization (UAE or UFE). Interestingly, this retreatment rate is comparable to longterm studies on UAE, a minimally invasive procedure that blocks the blood supply to the fibroids.

We hope that this information helps empower you as you make a decision about what treatment might be best for you.

Participate in a Clinical Trial on Focused Ultrasound

Source:
Kim, et al. MR-guided High intensity Focused Ultrasound Treatment for Symptomatic Uterine Leiomyomata: Longterm Outcomes. Academic Radiology, August 2011.

While these options may be fine choices for many women, Frances decided to do some research and find out about non-invasive options. She chose MR-guided focused ultrasound (MRg-FUS) and was very satisfied with the way it reduced the size of her fibroids and eliminated the symptoms they were causing. After the treatment, she no longer had abdominal pressure, painful intercourse and heavy periods.

To give you an update on her status, there was another positive outcome from her treatment. Frances was able to get pregnant and not worry about the fibroids interfering. (Focused ultrasound is approved for women who want to retain fertility, but they must consult with a physician about their particular circumstances.)

Frances gave birth to a healthy baby girl, Faryn, in August of 2010. Frances learned about focused ultrasound through the Fibroid Relief website and was inspired by a story of a women who had been treated with MRg-FUS and had gone on to have a baby. We wish Frances and Faryn all the best and hope that her story will inspire other women to pursue non-invasive treatment and hold on to their hopes of having a child.

Read Frances’ original story published in 2009.

Learn about focused ultrasound clinical trials.