Ultrasound-guided microwave, radiofrequency, and high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) ablation in treating uterine leiomyoma: A systemic review and meta-analysis of retrospective studies

ABSTRACT

To retrospectively evaluate the efficacy and safety of ultrasound-guided microwave (MWA), radiofrequency (RF), and high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) ablation in the treatment of uterine leiomyoma and to provide a suggestion for the selection of clinical treatment of uterine leiomyoma. The retrospective cohort studies on the efficacy of high-intensity focused ultrasound in treating uterine leiomyoma was collected through a literature search in Pubmed, Embase, Cochrane library, Scopus, and Web of Science, and selected according to the specified inclusion criteria and exclusion criteria. Evaluate the study quality, extract relevant data, and RevMan 5.4.1 was used to conduct this meta-analysis. Compared with HIFU therapy, the complete or partial ablation rate and recurrence rate of uterine leiomyoma treated with RFA/MWA were statistically different (P < 0.05). Compared with RF, the overall efficacy of HIFU in treating uterine leiomyoma was not as good as that of RF. There was no significant difference between the RFA therapy and the MWA. HIFU still has mild and short-term complications, such as abdominal pain, bloody vaginal discharge, sacral pain, and fever. Although myomectomy is usually the first choice for uterine preservation, RFA/MWA and HIFU have also been shown to relieve clinical symptoms significantly, shorten treatment time, reduce complications, and improve prognosis.

KEYWORDS:

• High intensity-focused ultrasound
• uterine leiomyoma
• randomized controlled trial
• efficacy
• meta-analysis

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank all those who helped me during the writing of this paper. I thank my colleagues, Yufang Zhu and Hongbo Ge, for their help in providing me with suggestions for academic research.

Author contributions

Chunyun Fan: Methodology, Investigation, Data curation, original draft. Qian Ying: Writing, Review & Editing. Li Zheng: Review & Editing. Binyi Li: Idea, Supervision, Review & Editing.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The labeled dataset used to support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon request.

Additional information

Funding

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Notes on contributors

Chunyun Fan

Chunyun Fan received the B.S. degree in Medical imaging from Mudanjiang Medical College, Mudanjiang, China, in 2005.Her research interests include Interven ultrasound and Obsteric ultrasound.

Ying Qian

Ying Qian received the B.S. degree in Medical imaging from Xuzhou Medical College, Xuzhou, China, in 2010. Her research interests include Interven ultrasound and Obsteric ultrasound.

Zheng Li

Zheng Li received the B.S. degree in Medical imaging from Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China, in 2009. Her research interests include Interven ultrasound and Obsteric ultrasound.

Binyi Li

Binyi Li received the B.S. degree in Clinical medicine from Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China,in 1996. His research interests include Interven ultrasound, Obsteric ultrasound and echocardiography.