Clinical trial NCT00897897: Therapeutic Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)-Guided High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) Ablation of Uterine Fibroids
Official title: Clinical Trial Protocol for Therapeutic MRI-guided High Intensity Focused Ultrasound Ablation of Uterine Fibroids
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Uterine Fibroids
Keywords: Uterine Leiomyomas
Fibroids
HIFU
Ablation
High Intensity Focused Ultrasound
Lead sponsor: Philips Healthcare
Sponsor class: INDUSTRY
Collaborators: name: Philips Medical Systems
First posted: 2009-05-12
Enrollment: 33
Sex: FEMALE
Minimum age (years): 18
Maximum age (years): 59
Standard ages: ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: NA
Intervention model: SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: This study is to confirm the safety and technical effectiveness of MRI guided High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) in ablating uterine tissue associated with symptomatic leiomyomas. The importance of this therapy is that it offers a non-invasive, uterine sparing procedure for the treatment of uterine fibroids in pre- and peri- menopausal women.

MRI guided high intensity focused ultrasound uses ultrasound to heat and thermally ablate fibroid tissue. The MRI system identifies the ultrasound path and monitors heat rise in the fibroid tissue. The goal of the study is to show treatment safety and technical effectiveness. MR-guided HIFU will be performed in patients who pass inclusion/exclusion criteria. Safety, quality of life, and imaging endpoints will be evaluated in all study patients.

The goal of this study is to demonstrate that:

1. The safety profile is acceptable (safety)
2. Actual MR-HIFU ablated volumes (as measured with contrast enhanced MRI) match the intended volumes (technical effectiveness)
3. When intended, volumes greater than 20% of the fibroid volume can be successfully ablated (technical effectiveness)

The investigators' hypothesis is that greater than 70% of fibroids will have concordance between intended lesion volume and actual lesion volume while maintaining an acceptable safety profile.

Detailed description: Fibroids occur in 20-50% of women over 30 years of age, and with increasing size produce pain, menorrhagia, pressure, bloating and urinary and bowel compression symptoms. Fibroids may also cause infertility. Uterine leiomyomas are benign tumors originating from smooth muscle cells of the uterus and occasionally the smooth muscle of uterine blood vessels. Fibroids are estrogen dependent tumors ranging in size and number and can be found within the myometrium(intramural), at the uterine periphery extending to the serosa (subserosal), or pushing into the uterine cavity (submucosal). Symptomatic fibroids impact health and well-being of the female including lost work hours and reduced quality of life.

Current medical treatments include invasive removal of the fibroid (hysterectomy, myomectomy), drug therapy (GnRH analogues or progestin compounds) or treatments causing necrosis of the fibroid tissue such as ablation (freezing or heating) or embolization. For the relief of symptoms, women wishing to preserve the uterus may choose between invasive procedures of myomectomy, Uterine Artery Embolization (UAE), ablation or cryotherapy. The surgically invasive procedures require anesthesia, hospital stays, and long recovery periods. HIFU may offer an alternative to the above mentioned surgically invasive procedures.

In MRI-guided High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU), the ultrasound generated by the transducer is focused into a small focal tissue volume at specific target locations. During treatment, the beam of focused ultrasound energy penetrates through soft tissue and causes localized high temperatures (55°C to 70°C) for a few seconds within the target producing well defined regions of protein denaturation, irreversible cell damage, and coagulative necrosis. The MRI system allows 3D planning, means of measuring the temperature increase generated by HIFU, and the capability to quantifying the energy/dose delivered to the treatment zone.

This study is a multi-center, single arm, non-randomized trial evaluating the safety, technical effectiveness and volume treatment capabilities of the Philips MR-guided HIFU system in the treatment of symptomatic uterine fibroid patients. Patients who have symptomatic uterine fibroids, who are eligible according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria and provide informed consent will be enrolled in this study. It is anticipated that women will participate in the study for a 2month period to include the screening, HIFU treatment and post treatment follow-up.

This clinical study is designed to confirm safety and demonstrate technical effectiveness of the Philips HIFU system for Uterine Fibroid treatment. Safety will be primarily assessed by evaluating minor complications and adverse events, and technical effectiveness will primarily be assessed with MRI measurements. Specific primary and secondary endpoints are detailed below.

The study will use a combination of three primary endpoints: MR imaging of ablated volumes and minor complications/adverse events analysis to establish the safety and technical effectiveness of the Philips MR-HIFU system. These endpoints will determine the trial success.

The treatment capabilities and technical effectiveness of the Philips MR-guided HIFU system will be assessed by (measurement type is noted in parentheses)

1. Comparing the actual MR-measured ablated volumes to MR thermal dose predicted volumes

   Safety of the Philips MR-guided HIFU system will be demonstrated by
2. Evaluating any minor complications or adverse events that result from the MR-guided HIFU treatment
3. Verifying with MR imaging that no unintended lesions are formed as a result of the Treatment

   Our hypothesis is that greater than 70% of fibroids will have concordance between intended lesion volume and actual lesion volume while maintaining an acceptable safety profile.

   In addition, the following endpoints will be collected to supplement the primary outcomes:
4. Pain and discomfort scores before, during and after treatment: These endpoints will be recorded using a 10-point visual analog scale for pain 4-point scale for discomfort.
5. Return to Activity: This duration in days will be determined by the time after which the patients return to work (i.e. days after leaving the hospital) or to the usual activities for those not employed.
6. Length of Hospital Stay (LOS): This duration in hours will be measured from the time the patient will arrive to the hospital until she will leave the hospital.
7. Quality of Life questionnaires: the SF-36(http://www.sf36.org/tools/SF36.shtml) and UFS-QoL (which includes SSS)

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Women, age between 18 and 59 years
* Weight \< 140kg
* Pre- or peri-menopausal
* Uterine size \< 24 weeks
* Transformed SSS score \> 40
* Normal Cervical cell assessment by PAP
* Symptomatic Fibroid disease
* Dominant fibroid greater than or equal to 3cm and less than or equal to 12 cm

Exclusion Criteria:

* Other Pelvic Disease
* Desire for future pregnancy
* Significant systemic disease even if controlled
* Positive pregnancy test
* Hematocrit \< 25%
* Scarring or other interference of the HIFU beam
* MRI or contrast contraindicated
* Fibroids not quantifiable on MRI
* Calcifications around or throughout uterine tissues
* Communication barrier

Primary outcomes:
measure: Adverse Events/Subject Resulting From HIFU Treatment of the Uterine Fibroids
timeFrame: 30 days after treatment
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Fibroid Symptom Severity Score (SSS) From the Uterine Fibroid Symptoms - Quality of Life (UFS-QoL) Questionnaire.
timeFrame: At baseline and at 30 days following treatment
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Bordeaux
country: France
facility: Hospital St. Andre
city: Lübeck
country: Germany
facility: University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein
city: Seoul
country: Korea, Republic of
facility: Samsung Medical Center
city: Utrecht
country: Netherlands
facility: University Medical Center
Study officials:
affiliation: Hospital St. Andre, Bordeaux, France
name: Herve Trillaud, Prof, MD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
affiliation: Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, Korea
name: Lim Hyo Keun, MD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
affiliation: University Medical Center - Utrecht, Netherlands
name: Willem Mali, Prof, MD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
affiliation: University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Lübeck, Germany
name: Joerg Barkhausen, Prof, MD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Spies JB, Coyne K, Guaou Guaou N, Boyle D, Skyrnarz-Murphy K, Gonzalves SM. The UFS-QOL, a new disease-specific symptom and health-related quality of life questionnaire for leiomyomata. Obstet Gynecol. 2002 Feb;99(2):290-300. doi: 10.1016/s0029-7844(01)01702-1.
citation: Stewart EA, Gedroyc WM, Tempany CM, Quade BJ, Inbar Y, Ehrenstein T, Shushan A, Hindley JT, Goldin RD, David M, Sklair M, Rabinovici J. Focused ultrasound treatment of uterine fibroid tumors: safety and feasibility of a noninvasive thermoablative technique. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2003 Jul;189(1):48-54. doi: 10.1067/mob.2003.345.
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citation: Fennessy FM, Tempany CM. MRI-guided focused ultrasound surgery of uterine leiomyomas. Acad Radiol. 2005 Sep;12(9):1158-66. doi: 10.1016/j.acra.2005.05.018.
citation: Stewart EA, Rabinovici J, Tempany CM, Inbar Y, Regan L, Gostout B, Hesley G, Kim HS, Hengst S, Gedroyc WM. Clinical outcomes of focused ultrasound surgery for the treatment of uterine fibroids. Fertil Steril. 2006 Jan;85(1):22-9. doi: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2005.04.072.
citation: Fennessy FM, Tempany CM, McDannold NJ, So MJ, Hesley G, Gostout B, Kim HS, Holland GA, Sarti DA, Hynynen K, Jolesz FA, Stewart EA. Uterine leiomyomas: MR imaging-guided focused ultrasound surgery--results of different treatment protocols. Radiology. 2007 Jun;243(3):885-93. doi: 10.1148/radiol.2433060267. Epub 2007 Apr 19.
citation: Mara M, Fucikova Z, Maskova J, Kuzel D, Haakova L. Uterine fibroid embolization versus myomectomy in women wishing to preserve fertility: preliminary results of a randomized controlled trial. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. 2006 Jun 1;126(2):226-33. doi: 10.1016/j.ejogrb.2005.10.008. Epub 2005 Nov 15.