A new study on a surgical procedure to remove growths in the uterus has added weight to claims the procedure can cause undetected cancer to spread in a woman's abdomen.

A study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) said a "laparoscopic hysterectomy" involving power morcellation could inadvertently spread undetected cancer tissue in the body of women undergoing the procedure.

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Power morcellation is a minimally invasive surgical approach for the treatment of noncancerous growths called fibroids in the uterus.

It involves use of electric or power morcellators to cut uterine tissue into small pieces. These pieces are then removed through small incisions in the abdomen.

Morcellation requires shorter recovery periods than more invasive surgeries but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned recently of the potential risks of the procedure.

The FDA said that 1 in 350 women who underwent a hysterectomy to remove fibroids have undetected cancer.

Results of the new study are consistent with FDA data. It showed that of 36,470 women who underwent hysterectomies involving morcellation, 99 had uterine cancer. The numbers suggest that 1 every 368 women have cancer.

The lead author of the study, Dr. Jason D. Wright, reported the research results. He is the head of gynecologic oncology at Columbia University of Physicians and Surgeons.

Another expert, Dr. Suzanne George, said the latest study also showed that morcellation was not the only option available to women requiring a hysterectomy.

She said a hysterectomy can be done though other methods such as removing the uterus through the vagina. The finding is important because it will help women make decisions, said Dr. George, who was not involved in Dr. Wright's study.

Dr. George is an oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, where researchers found that cancer spread faster after morcellation than after hysterectomy through major abdominal surgery.

TagsAmerican Medical Association, hysterectomy risks