Symptoms, Not Size, Drive More Fibroid Surgeries : Women cite heavy bleeding and desire for pregnancy as most common reasons for elective operations.

The most common reasons for choosing surgery were to reduce heavy bleeding (40%) and to attempt pregnancy (20%).

The investigators found a greater proportion of fibrous tissues, compared with smooth tissues, in the large tumors than in smaller tumors. The large tumors were the fastest growing, suggesting that connective tissue contributes to tumor growth rather than regression. The vascularity varied as well—the fibroids had fewer blood vessels compared with normal tissue, but the fibroid tissue bled more. Larger fibroids had a larger total area of vascularity, but the smaller fibroids had a larger cross-section of blood vessels.

Ultimately, these results and future analyses might help physicians develop a model that they can use to predict fibroid growth over time, Dr. Davis noted.