Uterine Artery Embolization: A Systematic Review of the Literature and Proposal for Research

The benign tumors known as terine leiomyomata are a common cause of significant, often disabling syptoms among women. For women whose symptoms are not controlled by hormones or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, surgery–hysterectomy or myomectomy–is required. Over the long term, about 10 percent of women who have had a myomectomy will later require a hysterectomy to control bleeding. Uterine artery embolization (UAE) is a minimally invasive radiologic technique for reducing symptoms caused by uterine leiomyomata. A randomized, controlled trial with careful measurement of short- and long-term outcomes is crucial to establish the comparative risks and benefits of UAE, myomectomy, and hysterectomy. In addition, the panel recommeded careful study of the costs of UAR and the establishment of a registry of patients undergoing UAE to provide nonexperimental data on the procedure.