Cancer fear prompts FDA to warn of common uterus procedure
Cancer fear prompts FDA to warn of common uterus procedure
FDA says risk of power morcellation, a technique used to treat painful fibroids in women, is much higher than thought
The Food and Drug Administration is warning women that a surgical procedure that tens of thousands of women undergo each year to eliminate growths in the uterus could inadvertently spread cancer to other parts of the body.
The agency is discouraging doctors from performing the procedure, which uses an electronic device to grind and shred uterine tissue so it can be removed through a small incision in the abdomen. Known as laparoscopic power morcellation, the technique is widely used to treat painful fibroids, either by removing the noncancerous growths themselves or the entire uterus.
Doctors have long recognized the risk of accidentally spreading cancer from undetected tumors, but FDA officials said Thursday the problem now appears far more common than thought. An FDA analysis estimates that 1 in 350 U.S. women who undergo fibroid procedures each year have a form of cancer called uterine sarcoma.
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http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/4/17/power-morcellationcancer.html