Uterine Fibroids

摘要

Though these benign tumors often have no symptoms and go unnoticed, they sometimes cause troublesome complications and can affect fertility. By Rear Adm. Joyce Johnson, D.O. Uterine fibroids, also known as leiomyomas, or "muscle tumors," are actually tumor growths of muscle tissue. The uterus is made of mucle so that, during childbirth, it can contract and push a baby out. Uterine fibroid tumors almost always are benign and very rarely become cancerous. About a third of women over age 30 have uterine fibroids; no one knows what causes them. They are most common in women of childbearing age, and they generally shrink after menopause, in response to hormonal changes. They are more common in African-American women than in most other ethnic groups. Women who are overweight are slightly more apt to develop uterine fibroids, and fibroids also are more common in women who have never had children.