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The Medical Treatment of Uterine Fibroids

  • Chapter
Radiological Interventions in Obstetrics and Gynaecology

Part of the book series: Medical Radiology ((Med Radiol Diagn Imaging))

Abstract

Uterine fibroids are the most common benign tumor in women, and cause many symptoms. The treatment for these tumors has traditionally been surgical. However, a variety of medical therapies are now available for use. These drugs are primarily utilized as preoperative adjunctive therapy to ease the difficulty of surgery. However, some may have potential as long-term medical treatments, allowing the patient to delay or even avoid surgery. Current medications include GnRH analogs, selective estrogen receptor modulators, aromatase inhibitors, progesterone receptor modulators, and a variety of other less thoroughly evaluated medications. In addition, a number of drugs are in development that are designed to attack novel, specific targets in the leiomyoma growth, and maintenance process.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Wisconsin Fertility Institute, Middleton, WI, USA

    David L. Olive

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  1. David L. Olive
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Correspondence to David L. Olive .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Guy’s Hospital, London, UK

    John Reidy

  2. Department of Clinical Radiology, Southampton General Hospital, Southampton, UK

    Nigel Hacking

  3. Los Angeles Fibroid Treatment Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Bruce McLucas

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Olive, D.L. (2013). The Medical Treatment of Uterine Fibroids. In: Reidy, J., Hacking, N., McLucas, B. (eds) Radiological Interventions in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Medical Radiology(). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/174_2013_850

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/174_2013_850

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-27974-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27975-1

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