The Safety and Effectiveness of Surgery With or Without Raloxifene for the Treatment of Pelvic Pain Caused by Endometriosis

NCT00001848 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: PHASE2 · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 612

Last updated 2016-09-22

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Many women with lower abdominal pain have endometriosis. Endometriosis is a condition in which the lining of the uterus (endometrium) is found outside of the uterus. The diagnosis of endometriosis is usually made at surgery. The treatment of endometriosis includes medical and surgical approaches alone or in combination. The hormone estrogen stimulates the growth of the endometrium and may also stimulate the growth of endometriosis. Medical therapies that act to decrease the level of estrogen can reduce the amount of endometriosis and pain. When therapies are discontinued, symptoms often return. In addition, medical treatment for endometriosis is expensive and is often associated with weak bones (osteoporosis) and hot flashes as a result of low levels of estrogen.

Surgical treatment is removal or destruction of the endometriosis tissue. Studies show the pain from endometriosis is relieved longer with tissue removal than with destruction.

This study was developed to see if surgery followed by daily doses of Raloxifene (Evista) is effective in reducing pain, for a longer time than surgery in combination with a placebo (inactive "sugar pill") treatment. Raloxifene acts like estrogens in some tissues and not like estrogens in others. Postmenopausal women receiving Raloxifene for the prevention of osteoporosis had an increase in bone density and an improvement of their blood lipids (fat content in the blood). However, unlike estrogen, Raloxifene does not promote the growth of breast tissue or the uterus. If Raloxifene blocks estrogen action in the lining of the uterus (endometrium) of reproductive age women, as it does in post-menopausal women, it may also limit the growth of endometriosis and prevent the return of pain.

Conditions

  • Endometriosis
  • Pelvic Pain

Interventions

DRUG

Raloxifene

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

    lead NIH

Study Design

Purpose
TREATMENT

Eligibility

Sex
FEMALE
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
1998-11-30
Completion
2006-01-31

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

More Related Trials

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT00001848 on ClinicalTrials.gov