Around 4,500 women with fibroids in England and Wales will be able to take a new tablet to reduce their symptoms. The treatment lessens the need for invasive surgery and can be taken long term according to the The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which has issued final draft guidance.
Uterine fibroids are a non-cancerous growth that occur in or around the uterus in about one in three 16-50 year olds, usually shrinking after the menopause. Symptoms can include prolonged heavy menstrual bleeding, pelvic pain and pressure, and fertility problems, with limited long-term treatment options available currently.
The treatment - relugolix with estradiol and norethisterone acetate, also called Ryeqo and made by Gedeon Ritcher UK - works by reducing the release of hormones which control oestrogen and progesterone production by the ovaries. While the exact cause of fibroids is unknown, they have been linked to oestrogen.
