SOGC CLINICAL PRACTICE GUIDELINEThe Management of Uterine Leiomyomas
Section snippets
Clinical Importance of Uterine Fibroids
The terms fibroid, myoma, and leiomyoma are synonymous and are the commonest gynaecological tumours, with a prevalence of 70% to 80% in women who have reached the age of 50.1 In 95 061 US nurses, aged 25 to 44 years, the incidence was 8.9/1000 for white women and 30.9/1000 for black women.2 The prevalence increases with age, peaking in women in their 40s. A hysterectomy study has found leiomyomas in 77% of uterine specimens.3
In many women, myomas may be asymptomatic and are diagnosed
MEDICAL MANAGEMENT
Until recently, medical management options for uterine leiomyomas have been of limited value because of their moderate efficacy and/or associated adverse effects. Novel therapies at the receptor and gene levels have emerged or are undergoing investigation and may eventually offer better long-term management options.58
Because estrogen upregulation of both ERs and PRs during the follicular phase is followed by progesterone-induced mitogenesis during the luteal phase, all hormonal therapies to
Hysterectomy
In women who have completed childbearing, hysterectomy is indicated as a permanent solution for symptomatic leiomyomas. The only indications for hysterectomy in a woman with completely asymptomatic fibroids are enlarging fibroids after menopause without HRT, which raises concerns of leiomyosarcoma, even though it remains very rare. 91., 92. Women with asymptomatic fibroids should be reassured that there is no evidence to substantiate concern about malignancy, and that hysterectomy is not
Uterine Artery Embolization
An SOGC clinical practice guideline on UAE has been published,178 and an up-to-date-review of UAE to treat uterine fibroids is included in the upcoming SOGC guideline.19 UAE is a procedure carried out by interventional radiologists and consists of injecting an occluding agent into one or both uterine arteries. First described in 1995, it has become one of the most common alternative conservative therapies offered to women with sympotomatic uterine fibroids. The procedure is minimally invasive
Acute Uterine Bleeding
Acute uterine bleeding unrelated to pregnancy has been defined as that which is sufficient in volume, in the opinion of the treating clinician, to require urgent or emergent intervention.190 Women with fibroids may present with acute intraperitoneal or vaginal hemorrhage, which can become life-threatening on rare occasions. Since acute uterine bleeding may or may not be associated with leiomyomas, the approach to investigation and treatment should be the same.45
Endometrial biopsy and
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Leuprorelin depot 3.75 mg versus lynestrenol in the preoperative treatment of symptomatic uterine myomas: a multicentre randomised trial
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Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist leuprolide acetate and GnRH antagonist cetrorelix acetate directly inhibit leiomyoma extracellular matrix production
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Danazol influences gonadotropin secretion acting at the hypothalamic level
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Management of the symptomatic fibroid in women older than 40 years of age: hysterectomy or myomectomy?
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Predictors of leiomyoma recurrence after laparoscopic myomectomy
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Treatment of uterine fibroids for abnormal uterine bleeding: myomectomy and uterine artery embolization
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This clinical practice guideline has been prepared by the Uterine Leiomyomas Working Group, reviewed by the Clinical Practice Gynaecology, Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility, and Family Physician Advisory Committees, and approved by the Executive and Board of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada.
Disclosure statements have been received from all contributors.
The literature searches and bibliographic support for this guideline were undertaken by Becky Skidmore, Medical Reserch Analyst, Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada.
This document reflects emerging clinical and scientific advances on the date issued and is subject to change. The information should not be construed as dictating an exclusive course of treatment or procedure to be followed. Local institutions can dictate amendments to these opinions. They should be well documented if modified at the local level. None of these contents may be reproduced in any form without prior written permission of the SOGC.