Introduction: Uterine fibroids are the most common benign tumors among women, and it is estimated that approximately 70% of women have one or multiple fibroids by the age of menopause. About 30% of these women suffer from symptoms related to the fibroids. Magnetic resonance-guided high-intensity focused ultrasound (MR-HIFU) is a novel, non-invasive treatment method for symptomatic uterine fibroids.

Material and methods: In this prospective, single-centre follow-up study, 175 women with symptomatic uterine fibroids were treated with MR-HIFU. The effect of MR-HIFU on fibroid symptoms and quality of life was evaluated using a uterine fibroid-specific quality of life questionnaire (UFS-QoL). The main outcome measure was the symptom severity score and quality of life (QoL) before the MR-HIFU and 3 and 12 months after the treatment. This study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT03937401).

Results: The median symptom severity score decreased from 56 (IQR 44-69) at baseline to 28 (IQR 16-44) at 3 months (p < 0.01) and 25 (IQR 16-38) at 12 months (p < 0.01) after treatment. The QoL score increased from a median of 48 (IQR 33-66) at baseline to 73 (IQR 59-93) at 3 months (p < 0.01) and 78 (IQR 66-90) at 12 months after treatment (p < 0.01). The reintervention rate during the 12-month follow-up was 2%.

Conclusions: MR-HIFU significantly reduces the severity of fibroid-related symptoms in selected patients as early as 3 months after MR-HIFU. The effect persists at 12 months. There is also a significant improvement in the quality of life 3 months after treatment, which further increases at 12 months.