Abortion pill may help shrink fibroids

According to a recent report the so-called 'abortion pill' mifepristone, also known as RU-486, seems to shrink fibroid tumours in women, and may allow them to avoid hysterectomy (surgical removal of the uterus or the womb) or at least make the surgery easier. Uterine fibroids can cause excessive menstrual bleeding, pelvic pain and frequent urination. The benign growths occur in about 25% of all women and are the leading cause of hysterectomy. Researchers at the University of Rochester in New York discovered that a daily dose of 5 milligrams (a small fraction of the 600 milligrams usually needed to induce abortion) can significantly reduce fibroids. In 2000, the FDA approved mifepristone for abortion in the first seven weeks of pregnancy. In the study, participants reported that many of the symptoms associated with fibroids improved after mifepristone treatment, such as pelvic pain, bladder pressure, and lower back pain.

It was found that after 6 months of treatment, the 19 women who received the 5 mg dose experienced a similar improvement in both symptoms and the size of their fibroids as compared to the 20 women who received a 10 mg dose. Women given the lower dose reported fewer hot flashes, a noxious side effect of treatment with mifepristone. Both the 5 mg and the 10 mg doses succeeded in decreasing the size of patients' uterus by one-half, a sign that the treatment had a significant impact on the fibroids. These findings show that low doses of mifepristone can provide all the benefits of the treatment, but with lower side effects. Low doses of mifepristone could increase the safety of a woman's hysterectomy by reducing the size of her fibroids before the procedure, and lowering the risk of complications. By shrinking symptomatic fibroids until menopause occurs, mifepristone could help some women avoid the need for hysterectomy altogether.

COMMENT