Uterine Fibroids? Tell me more!

Uterine fibroids are often considered as a benign tumor that forms in the uterus.  A benign tumor is not a cancerous tumor simply meaning it does not migrate to other parts of the body however it can be harmful when it grows in or on an important body organs or structures. More specifically, uterine fibroid tumor grows from one fibroid stem cell within the middle layer of the uterine wall (Ikhena et al, 2018). The middle layer of the uterine wall is also called myometrium which plays a very important function in the uterus as it is typically used for contractions because it contains smooth muscle tissue (Nair et al, 2019). 

The smooth muscle tissues in the myometrium works by contracting in an out which is very important for menstrual cycles because it helps to expel blood and other tissues during menstruation through the vagina as well as very important during pregnancy for contractions to bring the baby out through the vagina during labor (Sharp et al, 2016).  Because uterine fibroids grow in the myometrium, it may cause problems by affecting how the uterus undergoes contractions during menstrual cycles as well as during pregnancy. Without proper contractions of the uterine wall blood and other tissues cannot be expelled properly during menstruation which may end up of forming clots within the uterus because it cannot come out of the vagina properly during menstruation (Katz et al, 2016). This can accumulate over time within the uterus causing a lot of problems like irregular menstrual periods, dysmenorrhea, infertility and even miscarriage during the first weeks of pregnancy.

There is still not a known specific cause of uterine fibroids. However, there are some factors that can influence and increase the risk of a female to develop uterine fibroids. Factors like family history of fibroids increases the likelihood that other female members may develop uterine fibroid, early onset of menstruation can also increase the likelihood of developing uterine fibroids, obesity, high alcohol intake and diet which have a high protein and little vegetables. All these factors can dispose a female to developing uterine fibroid (Nowak, 1999) There are several ways fibroids can be treated including both surgical and non-surgical treatments. Non-surgical treatments use medication. More often than not surgical methods are used to prevent the growth of fibroid(s) by removing and using heat to shrink surgically. If the fibroid is not detected early enough a more invasive method in the form of surgery is used to remove or stop the growth of the fibroid.

   

Ikhena, D. E., & Bulun, S. E. (2018). Literature Review on the Role of Uterine Fibroids in Endometrial Function. Reproductive sciences (Thousand Oaks, Calif.), 25(5), 635–643. https://doi.org/10.1177/1933719117725827

Nair, H. B., Santhamma, B., Dileep, K. V., Binkley, P., Acosta, K., Zhang, K., Schenken, R., & Nickisch, K. (2019). EC313-a tissue selective SPRM reduces the growth and proliferation of uterine fibroids in a human uterine fibroid tissue xenograft model. Scientific reports, 9(1), 17279. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-53467-w

Nowak R. A. (1999). Fibroids: pathophysiology and current medical treatment. Bailliere's best practice & research. Clinical obstetrics & gynaecology, 13(2), 223–238. https://doi.org/10.1053/beog.1999.0019