['To examine the effect of alcohol and its derivatives on leiomyomata versus normal myometrium in cell culture.', 'A study on human tissue cultures.', 'A tertiary-care university hospital.', 'Premenopausal women with uterine myomas.', 'Obtaining paired cultures of normal myometrium and myomas from women undergoing hysterectomy.', 'Analysis of the effect of ethanol and acetaldehyde on cell growth and the expression of relevant proteins.', 'Acetaldehyde statistically significantly inhibited the growth of myoma cells compared with normal myometrium. The level of alcohol dehydrogenase 1 (ADH1) protein was lower in myoma than in myometrial cells. The acetaldehyde dehydrogenase 1 (ALDH1) protein level was higher in myoma cells. Treatment with acetaldehyde resulted in a relative reduction of ALDH1 level in the myoma cells.'] Does acetaldehyde differentially affect the growth of uterine leiomyomata and myometrial cells in tissue cultures?