title: A retrospective comparison of microwave ablation and high intensity focused ultrasound for treating symptomatic uterine fibroids.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To retrospectively compare the effectiveness and safety of percutaneous microwave ablation (PMWA) and ultrasound-guided high-intensity focused ultrasound (USgHIFU) for treating symptomatic uterine fibroids.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seventy-three women with symptomatic uterine fibroids who met the inclusion criteria were enrolled in our study from September 2012 to December 2013. Thirty-one patients with forty uterine fibroids underwent PMWA, and forty-two patients with fifty-one uterine fibroids underwent USgHIFU. A contrast-enhanced MRI was performed before and after treatment, and all patients were followed up for 6 months. Assessment endpoints included symptom severity scores (SSS), treatment time, ablation rate, fibroid regression rate and adverse events.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean age of the patients in our study was 35.4±6.2 years (range, 21-49 years), and the median volume of uterine fibroids was 95.7cm(3) (60.3-131.5cm(3)). The ablation rate of uterine fibroids was 79.8±18.2% and 77.1±14.9% in the PMWA group and the USgHIFU group, respectively, and showed no significant difference between the groups. Changes in SSS after PMWA were similar in the PMWA group (47.7 pre-treatment vs. 29.9 post-treatment) and USgHIFU group (42.1 pre-treatment vs. 24.6 post-treatment). The regression rate of uterine fibroids also showed no marked difference between the two groups (PMWA, 50.3%; USgHIFU, 52.4%). The median treatment time of the PMWA group was 46.2min, which was demonstrably superior to USgHIFU. Finally, the occurrence rate of adverse events was the same in the two groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The safety and effectiveness of PMWA and USgHIFU in the treatment of uterine fibroids were similar; however, the median treatment time of PMWA was shorter than that of USgHIFU.
authors.affiliation: Department of Interventional Ultrasound, Chinese PLA General Hospital, China. Electronic address: zwp215@163.com.
authors.forename: Wen-Peng
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Interventional Ultrasound, Chinese PLA General Hospital, China. Electronic address: hanzhiyu301@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Zhi-Yu
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Department of Interventional Ultrasound, Chinese PLA General Hospital, China. Electronic address: zjbch@sina.com.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Interventional Ultrasound, Chinese PLA General Hospital, China. Electronic address: liangping301@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Liang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D057086:High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound Ablation; D006801:Humans; D007889:Leiomyoma / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008872:Microwaves; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014594:Uterine Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy*
keywords: High-intensity focused ultrasound; Microwave ablation; Uterine fibroids