Subscribe to our newsletter. They may grow within the wall of the uterus or they may project into the interior cavity or toward the outer surface of the uterus. In rare cases, they may grow on stalks or peduncles projecting from the surface of the uterus. The factors that initiate fibroid growth are not known. The vast majority of fibroids occur in women of reproductive age, and according to some estimates, they are diagnosed in black women two to three times more frequently than in white women.
Fibroids are the most frequently diagnosed tumor of the female pelvis.
It is important to know that these are benign tumors. They are not associated with cancer , they virtually never develop into cancer, and they do not increase a woman's risk for uterine cancer . No risk factors have been found for uterine fibroids other than being a female of reproductive age. However, some factors have been described that seem to be protective. In some studies, again of small numbers of women, investigators found that as a group, women who have had two liveborn children have one-half the risk of having uterine fibroids compared to women who have had no liveborn children.