PCORI, AHRQ Announce Research Team Selected to Compare Treatments for Uterine Fibroids

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) and AHRQannounced that AHRQ has selected the research team that will conduct a five-year, $20 million project funded by PCORI to evaluate the effectiveness of different treatment strategies for women with uterine fibroids. Evan Myers, M.D., M.P.H., of Duke University School of Medicine’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Duke Clinical Research Institute, will lead the team that will conduct the study titled, Comparing Options for Management: Patient-Centered Results for Uterine Fibroids (COMPARE-UF). AHRQ has awarded the team a $3.95 million, first-year award. Uterine fibroids are the most common noncancerous tumors in women of childbearing age and the second most common reason these women undergo surgery. Uterine fibroids can lead to significant pain, bleeding and fertility problems. Treatment options include watchful waiting; treatment with drugs or hormones, embolization or ultrasound; and invasive procedures such as partial or total hysterectomy. However, there is little evidence about the effectiveness of these therapies or their outcomes, including fibroid reoccurrence and women’s ability to have children. “We know uterine fibroids are common, and that they disproportionally affect African-American women, who often undergo more invasive treatments,” said AHRQ Director Richard Kronick, Ph.D. “We need better evidence on which treatments work best for which patients. Our partnership with PCORI, together with the research team at Duke and the clinical centers, offers an important opportunity to work together so that health care providers and patients have the information they need to achieve the best possible outcomes.” The project team comprises a research and data coordinating center based at Duke Clinical Research Institute and nine clinical centers, each contributing information about geographically, racially, ethnically and clinically diverse women who have been treated for uterine fibroids, and the centers will report on what happens to the women over time. The overall design of this patient registry, which emphasizes capturing real treatment experiences and focusing on outcomes that matter most to patients, comes directly from conferences funded by PCORI and AHRQ that sought input from patients and other stakeholders.