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Science 10 June 2005:
Vol. 308. no. 5728, pp. 1589 - 1592
DOI: 10.1126/science.1112063
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Review

Uterine Fibroids: The Elephant in the Room

Cheryl Lyn Walker1 and Elizabeth A. Stewart2

Uterine fibroids (leiomyomas) have historically been viewed as important chiefly as the major indication for hysterectomy. As new therapies are developed, the heterogeneity of this disease becomes therapeutically relevant. An awareness of the role of genetics, the extracellular matrix, and hormones in tumor etiology is key to understanding this disease.

1 Department of Carcinogenesis, University of Texas and MD Anderson Cancer Center, Park Road 1C, Smithville, TX 78957, USA.
2 Center for Uterine Fibroids, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA 02115, USA.

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