Fibroid Growth Study

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We have collected a variety of data, ranging from MRI measurements of tumor (fibroid) volumes over time (up to 4 time points) to gene expression microarray data obtained on tumors from women who opted for surgery. Currently we are in the process of analyzing and summarizing various data obtained in this study so far. We examined tumor growth in relation to patient characteristics (ethnicity, age, and number of fibroids) and tumor characteristics (size and position in the uterus). In all there were 78 women in the study contributing a total of 279 tumors for the analysis of growth. Volumes of all 279 tumors were measured at least at two time points; of these 104 were measured at all four time points. Our preliminary analysis of this data suggests that there was a significant variability in average tumor growth both, both between and within women. Interestingly, within woman variation was twice that of between women. After adjusting for patient and tumor characteristics, our preliminary analysis suggests that the growth rate does not differ significantly among races or locations or tumor types, but it decreases with age of the participant and with number of tumors. A fibroid with no other fibroids in the uterus has a significantly larger growth rate than if it had other fibroids in the uterus.