Key clinical point: Uterine fibroids (UFs) may grow continuously in some postmenopausal women, most likely because of the presence of small fibroids or obesity.
Major finding: The median growth rate of UFs was 12.9% every 6 months, with 79.5% of the UFs showing enlargement and 20.5% regressed spontaneously. The median growth rate of UFs was significantly higher in obese and overweight women than those with normal weight ( P = .043). The growth was rapid in tumors with a diameter less than 3 cm vs greater than or equal to 5 cm (28.8% vs 9.1% in 6 months; P = .015).
Study details: Findings are from a retrospective longitudinal study including 102 postmenopausal women with 132 surgically identified UFs who had received at least 2 transvaginal ultrasound examinations in a 6-month interval.
Disclosures: This study was supported by the Capital Medical University Advanced Discipline Construction Project of Clinical Medicine. The authors declared no conflict of interests.
Source: Shen M et al. Menopause. 2021 Sep 6. doi: 10.1097/GME.0000000000001846 .