New research suggests minimally invasive hysterectomies could spread undetected uterine cancers.
A recent study published in JAMA - Journal of the American Medical Association showed among 10,000 women whounderwent electric power morcellation hysterectomies, 27 percent had uterine cancer. The procedure fragments the uterus into smaller pieces, which could lead to the spread of these cancers.
A hysterectomy is an operation in which a woman's uterus is removed. WebMD reported.
Electric power morcellators have been commercially available for about 20 years, but during this time accurate estimates of the prevalence of these malignancies have not been sufficient.
In order to remedy this Jason D. Wright, M.D., of the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, and colleagues looked at a large insurance database to determine the prevalence of underlying cancers in women who underwent the procedure. The database included information from over 500 hospitals and encompassed about 15 percent of the facilities' patients.
The team pinpointed 232,882 women who received minimally invasive hysterectomies between the years of 2006 and 2012. Among these patients 36,470 received morcellation. In the women who underwent morcellation 99 cases of uterine cancer were identified along with other malgnincies and precancerous abnormalities. Age was believed to be the top contributor to these cancers as well as a condition called endometrial hyperplasia, which is characterized by an overgrowth of the lining of the uterus. This condition is often treated through a hysterectomy.
"Although morcellators have been in use since 1993, few studies have described the prevalence of unexpected pathology at the time of hysterectomy. Prevalence information is the first step in determining the risk of spreading cancer with morcellation," the authors wrote. "Patients considering morcellation should be adequately counseled about the prevalence of cancerous and precancerous conditions prior to undergoing the procedure."
