Important New Research Poll

Polls
1

Dear All,

One of the key things that we believe at the Ectopic Pregnancy Trust is the importance of treatment choice. When someone is, sadly, diagnosed with an Ectopic Pregnancy we believe that there should be as many options as possible available for treatment and that a woman should have a right to choose which method she thinks will be most suitable for her.

Methotrexate is one such form of treatment where the medicine is injected into the muscle and works to remove folate from the body to stop the ectopic pregnancy cells from dividing. This method of treatment, as opposed to surgery where the tube is typically removed, preserves the fallopian tube and enables a faster physical recovery time. The downside of methotrexate is it can have temporary side effects where the lady feels very ill. Methotrexate sometimes requires a second injection and is successful in 66-95% of cases depending upon the study.

A new study has found that using the lung cancer drug gefitinib in addition to the current drug methotrexate is more effective at helping treat an ectopic pregnancy than the conventional drug alone and could therefore reduce the need to remove the fallopian tube in a significant number of cases and would also reduce the need for a second methotrexate injection. The study, published in the journal Obstetrics and Gynaecology, involved a trial of 12 women with ectopic pregnancies.

A group of researchers, lead by Dr Andrew Horne of the University of Edinburgh, now wants to run a large trial to prove their initial studies and make the use of gefitinib alongside methotrexate a standard treatment option for women in the future. The team aims to make treating ectopic pregnancies more effective using drugs rather than surgery to reduce the physical and emotional recovery times for women in the future. They are planning a clinical trial to test the new treatment and are keen to have input from women who have experienced an ectopic pregnancy to know whether this treatment option would be something that is wanted.

This very short survey will only take a minute or two to complete and we would be very grateful if you could share your point of view on whether it is a good idea.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/EctopicExperience

Best wishes,

The EPT Team

2

Hey

I’m 24, I just had my first pregnancy, and it ended in an etotpic in my left ovary. I went to the dr because my period started at never stopped. I was than diagnosed with a 3.7 cm mass in the left ovary, fluid in the pelvis and nothing in my uterius. I was lucky I caught this very early one at around 4 to 5 weeks. My levels were already down to 625 at diagnosis. I’m now to zero, after one round of methotrexate. I’m scared because I’m having a lot of pain still and my mass has grown. There is still a lot of fluid in my ultrasounds as well.

My question is this, has anyone else gone threw this? Is it common for the mass to grow a little before your body absolves it? Is it possible for it to go away on its own? We currently waiting 6 weeks and than doing my next ultra sound. I’m wondering if it’s worth the wait.

Thank you any info helps.