Fibroid Research Update

Find out about up-to-date information on what’s happening in the the Fibroid Health Community!

On November 22-23, 2010 research health professionals of all fields, including those in medicine, epidemiology, basic research, and therapeutics, will come together at the William H. Natcher Conference Center National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland to exchange scientific information among members of the uterine leiomyoma (fibroids) research community.  These individuals will join forces to tackle the issue of uterine fibroids which affects anywhere between 20-80% of women .  Participants from all corners of academia, medicine, government and industry will take part in this conference to discuss an array of topics that may hopefully allow the medical profession to take one step closer to decreasing the impact that fibroids have on women.

A recently completed NIH epidemiological study found that by age 50, the cumulative incidence of uterine fibroids was over 80 percent for African-American women and about 70 percent for Caucasian women. These percentages demonstrate that many women do not know they have fibroids, which may remain undetected until symptoms develop.

The conference objectives are to discuss fibroids, which are the most common gynecologic abnormal growth of cells in women of reproductive age. It is also deemed as the number one cause of hysterectomy, which in turn can often have a weighty negative impact on women’s physical and emotional well being.

Future research will support the development of prevention strategies, new drugs targeted at growth inhibition, new devices currently being evaluated, better information on why these cells grow, and more individually tailored out-patient removal/reduction treatments. Quality of life is an important area of research for women experiencing this condition.

Some topics that will be  covered include: Clinical Management and Therapeutic Strategies, Epidemiology. Pathogenesis, Environmental Influences, Model Systems, Hormonal Regulation, and Molecular and (Epi)Genetic Characteristics.