The US Food and Drug Administration has warned women that a device-assisted procedure for treating fibroids could inadvertently spread cancer from the uterus to other parts of the body.
The agency is discouraging doctors from performing the procedure, which uses an electronically powered device to grind and shred uterine tissue so it can be removed through a small incision in the abdomen.
Known as laparoscopic power morcellation, the technique is widely used to treat painful fibroids, either by removing the noncancerous growths themselves or the entire uterus.
The procedure was developed as a less invasive alternative to traditional surgery, in which the uterus or fibroids are removed through the vagina or a large incision in the abdomen.
But the FDA, which monitors food and drug products for safety, warned on Thursday that the procedure could actually be spreading uterine cancer to other parts of the body.
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The agency estimates that one in 350 US women who undergo fibroid procedures may have an undetected cancer known as uterine sarcoma.
"There is a risk that the procedure will spread the cancerous tissue within the abdomen and pelvis, significantly reducing the patient's likelihood of long-term survival," Dr William Maisel, the FDA's director for medical devices, said.
The agency did not give estimates for the number of cancers cases affected by electronic morcellation, but at least 50,000 US women undergo the technique each year for hysterectomy - removal of the uterus.
At least 30 per cent of women experience symptoms from fibroids - severe pain, heavy bleeding, bladder or bowel dysfunction, infertility or pregnancy complications - mostly in their late 30s and 40s.
Surgically removing the uterus is a key treatment because it is the only way to ensure fibroids do not return.
