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International Journal of Gynaecology... Apr 2020Uterine leiomyomas are one of the most common and yet understudied diseases in women. These tumors, commonly known as fibroids, affect women mainly during their... (Review)
Review
Uterine leiomyomas are one of the most common and yet understudied diseases in women. These tumors, commonly known as fibroids, affect women mainly during their reproductive years and are diagnosed in up to 70% of white women and more than 80% of women of African ancestry during their lifetime. This disease has a profound impact on health care delivery and costs worldwide. Though most women with fibroids are asymptomatic, approximately 30% of them will present with severe symptoms which can include abnormal uterine bleeding, anemia, pelvic pain and pressure, back pain, urinary frequency, constipation, or infertility, and will require intervention. Furthermore, fibroids have been associated with poor obstetrical outcomes. The current options for symptomatic fibroid treatment include expectant, medical, and surgical management, and interventional radiology procedures. This article reviews the recent progress and available management strategies for uterine fibroids and highlights areas where further research is needed to find new therapeutic targets and better personalize treatments.
Topics: Female; Humans; Leiomyoma; Pelvic Pain; Uterine Hemorrhage; Uterine Neoplasms
PubMed: 31960950
DOI: 10.1002/ijgo.13102 -
Endocrine Reviews Jul 2022Uterine fibroids are benign monoclonal neoplasms of the myometrium, representing the most common tumors in women worldwide. To date, no long-term or noninvasive... (Review)
Review
Uterine fibroids are benign monoclonal neoplasms of the myometrium, representing the most common tumors in women worldwide. To date, no long-term or noninvasive treatment option exists for hormone-dependent uterine fibroids, due to the limited knowledge about the molecular mechanisms underlying the initiation and development of uterine fibroids. This paper comprehensively summarizes the recent research advances on uterine fibroids, focusing on risk factors, development origin, pathogenetic mechanisms, and treatment options. Additionally, we describe the current treatment interventions for uterine fibroids. Finally, future perspectives on uterine fibroids studies are summarized. Deeper mechanistic insights into tumor etiology and the complexity of uterine fibroids can contribute to the progress of newer targeted therapies.
Topics: Female; Humans; Leiomyoma; Myometrium; Risk Factors; Uterine Neoplasms
PubMed: 34741454
DOI: 10.1210/endrev/bnab039 -
American Family Physician Jan 2017Uterine fibroids are common benign neoplasms, with a higher prevalence in older women and in those of African descent. Many are discovered incidentally on clinical... (Review)
Review
Uterine fibroids are common benign neoplasms, with a higher prevalence in older women and in those of African descent. Many are discovered incidentally on clinical examination or imaging in asymptomatic women. Fibroids can cause abnormal uterine bleeding, pelvic pressure, bowel dysfunction, urinary frequency and urgency, urinary retention, low back pain, constipation, and dyspareunia. Ultrasonography is the preferred initial imaging modality. Expectant management is recommended for asymptomatic patients because most fibroids decrease in size during menopause. Management should be tailored to the size and location of fibroids; the patient's age, symptoms, desire to maintain fertility, and access to treatment; and the experience of the physician. Medical therapy to reduce heavy menstrual bleeding includes hormonal contraceptives, tranexamic acid, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists or selective progesterone receptor modulators are an option for patients who need symptom relief preoperatively or who are approaching menopause. Surgical treatment includes hysterectomy, myomectomy, uterine artery embolization, and magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound surgery.
Topics: Diagnosis, Differential; Female; Humans; Leiomyoma; Middle Aged; Ultrasonography; Uterine Neoplasms
PubMed: 28084714
DOI: No ID Found -
Nature Reviews. Disease Primers Jun 2016Uterine fibroids (also known as leiomyomas or myomas) are common clonal neoplasms of the uterus. Fibroids have both smooth muscle and fibroblast components, in addition... (Review)
Review
Uterine fibroids (also known as leiomyomas or myomas) are common clonal neoplasms of the uterus. Fibroids have both smooth muscle and fibroblast components, in addition to a substantial amount of fibrous extracellular matrix, which all contribute to the pathogenetic process. Fibroids are extremely heterogeneous in their pathophysiology, size, location and clinical symptomatology. They are also a part of a range of disease in which some variants have facets of malignant behaviour but overall are benign. Risk for fibroids is associated with race; black women have a higher risk of developing fibroids earlier in life than their white counterparts and also develop more-severe forms of the disease. Clinically, fibroids account for one-third to half of all hysterectomies and are associated with substantial morbidity and health care costs for women of reproductive age. Indeed, current treatments are primarily surgical and interventional; approximately three-quarters of all fibroid treatments are hysterectomies. However, clinical innovations are emerging in the use of progesterone receptor modulators as a medical therapy. New information is rapidly accumulating about the genetic subgroups that lead to fibroid formation, which might aid further understanding of the clinical heterogeneity of this disease and lead to individualized treatments. This information is a crucial development given the current lack of high-quality evidence on which to base therapeutic decisions.
Topics: Diet; Female; Humans; Hysterectomy; Leiomyoma; Morbidity; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Complications; Prevalence; Quality of Life; Red Meat; Sexually Transmitted Diseases; Uterine Myomectomy
PubMed: 27335259
DOI: 10.1038/nrdp.2016.43 -
International Journal of Environmental... Jan 2021Uterine myomas or fibroids are the most common benign female tumors of the reproductive organs, associated with significant morbidity and quality of life impairment.... (Review)
Review
Uterine myomas or fibroids are the most common benign female tumors of the reproductive organs, associated with significant morbidity and quality of life impairment. Several epidemiological risk factors for their occurrence have been identified so far, including nutrition and dietary habits. In this investigation, authors reviewed, as a narrative review, the data about diet and uterine myoma development in order to homogenize the current data. A PubMed search was conducted for the years 1990-2020, using a combination of keywords of interest for the selected topic. The authors searched the databases, selecting the randomized clinical studies, the observational studies, and the basic (experimental), clinical, and epidemiological researches. Once they collected the articles, they analyzed them according to the number of citations of each article, starting from the most cited to the least cited articles. Subsequently, authors collected the data of each article and inserted them in the various research paragraphs, summarizing the data collected. In this way, they crossed the available data regarding the association between nutrition habits and dietary components and myoma onset and growth. Many nutrients and dietary habits are associated with myoma development risk. These factors include low intakes of fruit, vegetables, and vitamin D, as well as pollutants in food. Despite the available data on the influence of some foods on the development of fibroids, further research is mandatory to understand all the nutrition risk factors which contribute to myoma growth and how exactly these risk factors influence myoma pathogenesis.
Topics: Diet; Female; Fruit; Humans; Leiomyoma; Quality of Life; Uterine Neoplasms; Vegetables
PubMed: 33504114
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18031066 -
Best Practice & Research. Clinical... Jan 2018Risk factors, both modifiable and non-modifiable, are associated with the development of fibroids. These include age, race, endogenous and exogenous hormonal factors,... (Review)
Review
Risk factors, both modifiable and non-modifiable, are associated with the development of fibroids. These include age, race, endogenous and exogenous hormonal factors, obesity, uterine infection, and lifestyle (diet, caffeine and alcohol consumption, physical activity, stress, and smoking). Some of the epidemiological data were conflicting; consequently, further studies are needed to better understand the factors that influence fibroid prevalence.
Topics: Age Factors; Black People; Female; Humans; Leiomyoma; Prevalence; Risk Factors; Uterine Neoplasms; White People
PubMed: 29054502
DOI: 10.1016/j.bpobgyn.2017.09.004 -
Journal of Basic and Clinical... May 2023Uterine fibroids (UFs), leiomyomas or myomas, are a type of malignancy that affects the smooth muscle of the uterus, and it is most commonly detected in women of... (Review)
Review
Uterine fibroids (UFs), leiomyomas or myomas, are a type of malignancy that affects the smooth muscle of the uterus, and it is most commonly detected in women of reproductive age. Uterine fibroids are benign monoclonal growths that emerge from uterine smooth muscle cells (myometrium) as well as fibroblasts. Uterine fibroid symptoms include abnormal menstrual bleeding leading to anaemia, tiredness, chronic vaginal discharge, and pain during periods. Other symptoms include protrusion of the abdomen, pain during intercourse, dysfunctions of bladder/bowel leading to urinary incontinence/retention, pain, and constipation. It is also associated with reproductive issues like impaired fertility, conceiving complications, and adverse obstetric outcomes. It is the leading cause of gynaecological hospitalisation in the American subcontinent and a common reason for the hysterectomy. Twenty-five percent of the reproductive women experience the symptoms of uterine fibroids, and among them, around 25% require hospitalization due to the severity of the disease. The frequency of the disease remains underestimated as many women stay asymptomatic and symptoms appear gradually; therefore, the condition remains undiagnosed. The exact frequency of uterine fibroids varies depending on the diagnosis, and the population investigated; nonetheless, the incidence of uterine fibroids in reproductive women ranges from 5.4 percent to 77 percent. The uterine fibroid treatment included painkillers, supplementation with iron, vitamin D3, birth control, hormone therapy, gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists, drugs modulating the estrogen receptors, and surgical removal of the fibroids. However, more research needed at the level of gene to get a keen insight and treat the disease efficiently.
Topics: Pregnancy; Female; Humans; Uterine Neoplasms; Leiomyoma; Uterus; Hysterectomy; Pain
PubMed: 36989026
DOI: 10.1515/jbcpp-2022-0219 -
The New England Journal of Medicine Apr 2015A 47-year-old black woman has heavy menstrual bleeding and iron-deficiency anemia.She reports nocturia and urinary frequency. A colonoscopy is negative. Ultrasonography... (Review)
Review
A 47-year-old black woman has heavy menstrual bleeding and iron-deficiency anemia.She reports nocturia and urinary frequency. A colonoscopy is negative. Ultrasonography shows a modestly enlarged uterus with three uterine fibroids. She is not planning to become pregnant. How should this case be evaluated and managed?
Topics: Contraceptives, Oral, Hormonal; Female; Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone; Humans; Hysterectomy; Leiomyoma; Practice Guidelines as Topic; Progesterone; Uterine Artery Embolization; Uterine Myomectomy; Uterine Neoplasms
PubMed: 25901428
DOI: 10.1056/NEJMcp1411029 -
BJOG : An International Journal of... Sep 2017Uterine fibroids (UFs) are the most common neoplasm affecting women that can cause significant morbidity and may adversely impact fertility.
BACKGROUND
Uterine fibroids (UFs) are the most common neoplasm affecting women that can cause significant morbidity and may adversely impact fertility.
OBJECTIVES
To examine UF epidemiology and to evaluate the relative strengths of putative risk factors.
SEARCH STRATEGY
MEDLINE and Embase were searched for studies published in English between January 1995 and April 2015.
SELECTION CRITERIA
Publications reporting relevant data from registries and other observational studies with over 1000 patients and single-centre studies with over 100 patients were selected.
DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
Data on UF incidence, prevalence and associated risk factors were extracted from 60 publications.
MAIN RESULTS
Wide ranges were reported in both UF incidence (217-3745 cases per 100 000 women-years) and prevalence (4.5-68.6%), depending on study populations and diagnostic methods. Black race was the only factor that was recurrently reported to increase UF risk, by two-threefold compared with white race. Eleven other factors affected UF risk to a magnitude similar to or greater than race. Age, premenopausal state, hypertension, family history, time since last birth, and food additive and soybean milk consumption increased UF risk; use of oral contraceptives or the injectable contraceptive depot medroxyprogesterone acetate, smoking in women with low body mass index and parity reduced UF risk.
CONCLUSIONS
We identified 12 risk factors that play an important role in UF epidemiology. The UF risk factor with the strongest evidence is black race. High-quality prospective observational data are needed to improve our understanding of UF epidemiology, and thus its aetiology and optimal management.
TWEETABLE ABSTRACT
Uterine fibroids occur in about 70% of women. Black race and 11 other factors affect uterine fibroid risk.
Topics: Adult; Black People; Female; Humans; Leiomyoma; Middle Aged; Observational Studies as Topic; Registries; Risk Factors; Uterine Neoplasms; Young Adult
PubMed: 28296146
DOI: 10.1111/1471-0528.14640 -
Abdominal Radiology (New York) Jul 2022Uterine fibroids are the most common gynecologic neoplasm. Although non-degenerated fibroids are easily identifiable on imaging, degenerated fibroids, fibroid variants,... (Review)
Review
Uterine fibroids are the most common gynecologic neoplasm. Although non-degenerated fibroids are easily identifiable on imaging, degenerated fibroids, fibroid variants, and fibroids with unusual growth patterns can constitute a diagnostic dilemma. Identification of these abnormal morphologic features can alter the diagnosis of presumed uterine fibroids and hence change management plans. This article reviews the typical and atypical radiologic imaging features of uterine fibroids, with an emphasis on the pitfalls, mimics, and radiologically identifiable features that can alter clinical management plans.
Topics: Diagnostic Imaging; Female; Humans; Leiomyoma; Uterine Neoplasms
PubMed: 35554629
DOI: 10.1007/s00261-022-03545-x