Uterine Fibroids Overview

Principles

Definition

Uterine fibroids is a key research concept within gynecology, pathology, and reproductive medicine, referring to benign smooth muscle neoplasms originating in the uterine wall, whose study encompasses their etiology, pathogenesis, clinical presentation, and therapeutic management due to their significant impact on women's health.

Ontological type

Therapeutic Management

Etiology and Pathogenesis

Epidemiology

Key developments

Key Figures

Hormone and ECM Biology era

Malcolm C. Pike[1] was associated with the Institute of Cancer Research[3] and Harvard University[4] during the Hormone and ECM Biology era. Pike[1]'s key contributions in this era include identifying epidemiological risk factors for uterine fibroids, as exemplified by the 1986 paper Risk factors for uterine fibroids: reduced risk associated with oral contraceptives[6], which highlighted how hormonal regulation via oral contraceptives could modulate fibroid risk. Martin Vessey[2] was associated with Harvard University[4] and Boston University[5] during this era. Vessey[2] co-authored the same 1986 study, which provided population-based insights into fibroid risk and contraceptive associations, shaping epidemiological understanding of hormonal and matrix biology in this era[6].

Imaging-Guided Minimally Invasive Care era

Donna D. Baird [1] was associated with Columbia University [3] and the University of Chicago [4] during this era. Her key contribution was the 2003 ultrasound-based study High cumulative incidence of uterine leiomyoma in black and white women: Ultrasound evidence [7], which highlighted the central role of imaging in patient selection and outcome assessment for imaging-guided care. Richard S. Houlston [2] was affiliated with the Institute of Cancer Research [5] and Karolinska Institutet [6] in this era. His 2002 paper Germline mutations in FH predispose to dominantly inherited uterine fibroids, skin leiomyomata and papillary renal cell cancer [8] identified a genetic basis for fibroid susceptibility and informed etiologic context for imaging-guided care.

Genomic Precision Fibroid Medicine era

Lauri A. Aaltonen [1] is a leading figure in the Genomic Precision Fibroid Medicine era with affiliations including the Institute of Cancer Research [3] and Johns Hopkins University [4]. His key contributions include the discovery that MED12 [7] is mutated at high frequency in uterine leiomyomas [7] and the observation of MED12 mutation frequency in unselected sporadic uterine leiomyomas [8], which reframed fibroids as genetically heterogeneous neoplasms and enabled genomic stratification in this era [7][8]. Netta Mäkinen [2] has contributed to this era through roles at Harvard University [5] and the University of Helsinki [6]. Her work accompanying Aaltonen on the MED12-focused papers [7] and [8] helped establish fibroid genomics as a driver-based field, informing registry-supported, molecularly informed decision-making essential to precision medicine [7][8].