Trial reportHealth technology assessment (Winchester, England)2022
Uterine artery embolisation versus myomectomy for premenopausal women with uterine fibroids wishing to avoid hysterectomy: the FEMME RCT.
Trial report in Health technology assessment (Winchester, England), 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 22 citations in OpenAlex.
- Evaluating treatment options for symptomatic uterine fibroids: a systematic review and meta-analysis of effectiveness, recovery, and long-term outcomes (MARIE WP1).Frontiers in global women's health · 2025Pooled it
- Systematic review and meta-analysis of current evidence in uterine artery embolization vs myomectomy for symptomatic uterine fibroids.Scientific reports · 2024Pooled it
- The impact of fibroid treatments on quality of life and mental health: a systematic review.Fertility and sterility · 2024Pooled it
- [Uterine fibroids-Minimally invasive treatment with embolization].Radiologie (Heidelberg, Germany) · 2026Review
- Long-Term Outcomes of Uterine Artery Embolization for Treatment of Fibroids in Women Under 40: A Retrospective Survey Study at Two Institutions with Median 16-year Follow-up.Cardiovascular and interventional radiology · 2026Article
- Development and validation of a clinical prediction model for the success of focused ultrasound ablation system for the treatment of adenomyosis.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Article
- Laparoscopic hysterectomy versus open abdominal hysterectomy for women with a benign gynaecological condition: the LAVA RCT.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2026Article
- Comprehensive nursing in adenomyosis: a retrospective analysis of postoperative recovery, psychological status, and daily living ability.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Nationwide analysis of surgical and interventional uterine fibroid treatments over the past decades in Germany.CVIR endovascular · 2025Article
- Successful consecutive pregnancies following two uterine artery embolization procedures for symptomatic fibroids.Przeglad menopauzalny = Menopause review · 2025Article
- The clinical efficacy and influencing factors of uterine artery embolization in the treatment of different types of uterine adenomyosis.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Comparison of the Efficacy of Polyvinyl Alcohol Colorless Embolic Microspheres (8Spheres) and Gelatin Embolic Microspheres (Embosphere) in Uterine Artery Embolization for Symptomatic Uterine Fibroids in Women Without Fertility Requirements: A Multicenter Observational Study.International journal of women's health · 2025Article
- Uterine Artery Embolization: A Growing Pillar of Gynecological Intervention.Journal of radiology and clinical imaging · 2025Article
- Comprehensive diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to uterine teratoma in postmenopausal women: a case study and review.Frontiers in oncology · 2024Article
- Prophylactic Use of Uterine Artery Embolization to Decrease Bleeding in Laparoscopic Myomectomy: A Case Report.Cureus · 2024Article
- Uterine artery embolization versus myomectomy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.SAGE open medicine · 2024Review
- Comparison of Costs, Re-Intervention Rates, and Length of Hospital Stay for Three Uterus Sparing Interventions for Uterine Fibroids: A 2-Year Retrospective Claims Analysis.ClinicoEconomics and outcomes research : CEOR · 2024Article
- The role of VEGF and TGF-β blood levels for fibroid shrinkage, menorrhagia score, and quality of life improvement after uterine artery embolization for uterine fibroids: a study protocol.Frontiers in medicine · 2024Article
- Complications of transvaginal radiofrequency ablation of fibroids: A 5-year experience.European journal of obstetrics & gynecology and reproductive biology: X · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors at 6 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundUterine fibroids are the most common tumour in women of reproductive age and are associated with heavy menstrual bleeding, abdominal discomfort, subfertility and reduced quality of life. For women wishing to retain their uterus and who do not respond to medical treatment, myomectomy and uterine artery embolisation are therapeutic options.
objectivesWe examined the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of uterine artery embolisation compared with myomectomy in the treatment of symptomatic fibroids.
designA multicentre, open, randomised trial with a parallel economic evaluation.
settingTwenty-nine UK hospitals.
participantsPremenopausal women who had symptomatic uterine fibroids amenable to myomectomy or uterine artery embolisation were recruited. Women were excluded if they had significant adenomyosis, any malignancy or pelvic inflammatory disease or if they had already had a previous open myomectomy or uterine artery embolisation.
interventionsParticipants were randomised to myomectomy or embolisation in a 1 : 1 ratio using a minimisation algorithm. Myomectomy could be open abdominal, laparoscopic or hysteroscopic. Embolisation of the uterine arteries was performed under fluoroscopic guidance.
main outcome measuresThe primary outcome was the Uterine Fibroid Symptom Quality of Life questionnaire (with scores ranging from 0 to 100 and a higher score indicating better quality of life) at 2 years, adjusted for baseline score. The economic evaluation estimated quality-adjusted life-years (derived from EuroQol-5 Dimensions, three-level version, and costs from the NHS perspective).
resultsA total of 254 women were randomised - 127 to myomectomy (105 underwent myomectomy) and 127 to uterine artery embolisation (98 underwent embolisation). Information on the primary outcome at 2 years was available for 81% ( LIMITATIONS: There were a substantial number of women who were not recruited because of their preference for a particular treatment option.
conclusionsAmong women with symptomatic uterine fibroids, myomectomy resulted in greater improvement in quality of life than did uterine artery embolisation. The differences in costs and quality-adjusted life-years are very small. Future research should involve women who are desiring pregnancy.
trial registrationThis trial is registered as ISRCTN70772394.
fundingThis study was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment programme, and will be published in full in
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.