Understanding Symptom Relief After Uterine Fibroid Treatment

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is supporting a study of uterine fibroid treatment outcomes. This new study, Ascertaining Longterm Outcomes of Fibroid Treatments (ALOFT), will compare symptom relief for patients who have had certain uterine fibroid treatments. Researchers leading the ALOFT Study will ask participants from the COMPARE-UF and ULTRA studies to join this new NIH-funded study.

What is the study goal?

The goal of the ALOFT study is to understand the health of women who have different fibroid treatments.

What are we asking participants to do?

Participants will be asked to complete questionnaires online or over the phone. We will contact you two times, approximately 18 months apart, to answer questions about your health. You will be sent a $50.00 gift card for each questionnaire you complete, for a total of up to $100.

What did we learn from COMPARE-UF and ULTRA?

Overall, participants had substantial improvements in their uterine fibroid symptoms and quality of life following myomectomy (uterine fibroid removal), but women who had an abdominal myomectomy take significantly longer to recover from their surgery and to return to work. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31678093/

Women who had either a hysterectomy or a myomectomy have substantial quality of life improvement 6-12 weeks after their surgery, but those who had a hysterectomy tended to report higher quality of life compared with those who had a myomectomy. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31306318/

Among those participants who had a minimally invasive surgical approach, those participants who had a hysterectomy had greater improved quality of life approximately one year after surgery compared with those participants who had a myomectomy. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32192594/

Uterine fibroid symptoms were more severe among women reporting anxiety/depression at the time of their fibroid treatment. Overall, results suggest that uterine fibroid treatment improves symptoms of anxiety/depression associated with symptomatic uterine fibroids. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34101502/

Meet the Team

Henry Ford Health (Coordinating Center)

• Ganesa Wegienka, PhD
• Kate Graham Mcneil
• Lisa King

Mayo Clinic

• Elizabeth A. (Ebbie) Stewart, MD
• Maureen Lemens
• Amy Hilley

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

• Anissa Vines, PhD
• Wanda Nicholson, MD
• Lena Morant
• Divya Akait

University of California San Francisco

• Vanessa Jacoby, MD, MAS
• Lisa Abinanti
• Michael Schembri
• Estefania Guerreros
• Maria Tolentino
• Nyat Araya
• Yulissa Oceguera Barragan

This study is funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), grant number R01 HD109127.

Additional grant details available on the NICHD website.