KEY WORDS: Connective tissue, Benign tumors, Uterine fibroid, Fibroid breast, Abnormal uterine bleeding, Mastalgia (Mastodinia), Homeopathy.

INTRODUCTION: Connective tissue is one of the four types of the biological tissue in human body. It supports, connects and separates different organs and tissues. Connective tissue develops from the mesoderm. The term “benign tumor” indicates that tumor rarely or never gives rise to cancer. Ones of the common benign tumors originating from  connective tissue are the fibrous tumors.

The most frequent tumors are the uterine and breast fibroids (benign breast disease), and the breast fibroadenomas. Fibroadenomas is characterized with admixture of the stromal and the epithelial tissues. According to the clinical research up 20% to 80% women have the uterine fibroids at the reproductive age. Fibroadenomas are the most common breast tumors of adolescent women with the rate of occurrence up 7 to 14% that examined in the breast clinics.

Benign fibroid tumors are typically slow-growing and rarely spread to other areas of the body. As well known the benign tumor is caused with upregulation of many genes involved in cell proliferation, differentiation, migration and apoptosis (programmed cell death). Hormones such as estrogens take a part into the growth and development of the tumors. Uterine fibroids, breast fibroids and fibroadenomas are partially hormone-related and usually regress after menopause.

Benign tumors usually have 3 important signs:

1) well-defined borders;

2) encapsulated in a fibrous connective tissue capsule;

3) they are mostly well differentiated.

Therefore surgical removal of fibroids can be the effective treatment of disease outcome, but it does not eliminate the cause of the neoplasms. Besides perioperative complications, the shortcomings of surgery include the loss of reproductive and menstrual function, as well as sexual and mental disorders.
Allopathic prophylactic treatment of benign fibroids is unwarranted.
Homeopathic Materia Medica contains significant numbers of the drugs with the symptoms of fibroid tumors. The effectiveness of homeopathy in the treatment of benign tumors usually causes skepticism, both colleagues and patients. So there is necessity to test my work with the help of a meta-analysis.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: 67 women with fibroid tumors were under our observation.

1) Uterine fibroids – 52  cases (77.6%).

2) Fibroid breast tumors – 35 cases (52.2%), including 5 cases (7.5% )of breast fibroadenomas.
3) Other benign tumors of connective tissue – 6 cases (9%), including  hemangioma of liver (4), dermatofibroma (2).

Division of fibroid cases according to the age: Women under 35 years – 13 (19.4%); up 35 to 39 years – 16 (23.9%); up 40 to 44 years – 29 (43.3%); up 45 to 49 years – 9 (13.4%).

All patients were given only homeopathic treatment. The study did not include patients with the large sizes of fibroadenoma (more 3cm), and large uterine fibroids (over 12 weeks of pregnancy or 1500cm³) which were subject to surgery. The period of observation was 5 years. In all cases, benign tumors were monitored carefully. Pelvic and breast examination, ultrasonography, Doppler ultrasound, standard mammography and MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) were carried out. In the course of these investigation, structure and volume of tumor, size and localization of the fibroid mass and the condition of endometrium were defined. Multi central fibroid biopsy was used to control histology as routine procedure. In case of abnormal endometrial bleeding, the analyses of blood were determined. Diagnostic curettage of the uterus and endometrial biopsy were carried out if it was indicated. Standard statistical methods were used to analyze the obtained data.

RESULTS: Before treatment 38 patients suffered from algomenorrhea (uterine pain) and mammalgia (breast pain). And after homeopathic treatment pain was cancelled or diminished in 30 cases (78.9%, p<0.01). 30 women with abnormal endometrial bleeding were observed.  And after treatment this symptom improved in 23 cases (76.7% p<0.01)

The following drugs were used most of all: Aurum muriaticum natronatum, Calcium fluoricum, Conium maculatum, Lapis albus, Hecla lava, Silicea, Phytolacca decandra, Condurango marsdenia, Barium carbonicum, Carcinosinum, Hydrastis canadensis, Arsenicum album, Phosphorus, Thuja occidentalis, Sabina, Sepia officinalis.

Fibroid tumor volume after homeopathic treatment: Reduction of the tumor volume (uterine fibroid and breast fibroadenomas) was observed in 12 (17.9%) cases. And increase of the tumor volume was observed in 10 (14.9%) cases.
The tumor volume was considered stable if it changed not more than 10% from the initial stage. In the observation group the number of such cases was 45 (67.1%).

There were some difficulties in finding of the control group without any treatment. Unfortunately I could not find any information in clinical analysis of the fibroid growth dynamics. Before the beginning of homeopathic treatment (49 cases) I did the retrospective analysis. During a five-year period, the tumor progression was observed in 26 cases (53%). And reduction of tumor volume was only in 2 cases.

CONCLUSIONS:

1) In comparison with the control group,  homeopathic therapy is not significantly effective method to reduce uterine  and breast fibroids (p>0.05).

But it is sufficiently effective to stop its progressive growth (p<0.05).

2) Homeopathic treatment is significantly effective to stop pain and abnormal endometrial bleeding.

3) The search “specific” drugs for fibroid tumors is not very promising. Thus, the using  of various remedies mainly depends on the personal peculiarities and skills of a homeopath. The right way of successful prescription is following the principle of similarity.

There are some clarifications to Materia Medica: calcifications (calcium deposits around  fibroid) might indicate on Calcium fluoricum, Calcium carbonicum, Silicea;

Hyperechoic (enlarged density) tumor mass or/and solid capsule might indicate on – Conium; Hypoechoic (reduced density) tumor structure – Thuja, Medorrhinum;  increased blood flow around tumor – Posphorus, Ferrum phosphoricum.

REFERENCES:

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