Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2011 Sep;96(3):711-714.e1.
doi: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2011.06.038.

Prevalence of uterine leiomyomas in lymphangioleiomyomatosis

Angelo M Taveira-Dasilva  1 , Antoinette Rabel, Bernadette R Gochuico, Nilo A Avila, Joel Moss
Affiliations

Prevalence of uterine leiomyomas in lymphangioleiomyomatosis

Angelo M Taveira-Dasilva et al. Fertil Steril. 2011 Sep.

Abstract

Objective: To determine the frequency of uterine leiomyomas and hysterectomy in patients with lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM), a disease characterized by proliferation of abnormal-appearing smooth muscle-like cells.

Design: Retrospective study.

Setting: Natural history study at the National Institutes of Health.

Patient(s): 456 patients with sporadic LAM and LAM associated with tuberous sclerosis complex (LAM/TSC).

Intervention(s): Review of records and pelvic computed axial tomography scans.

Main outcome measure(s): Prevalence of uterine leiomyomas and hysterectomy.

Result(s): A total of 174 women had uterine leiomyomas (38%). One hundred eighteen were diagnosed by computed tomographic scan and 56 were diagnosed by hysterectomy. Among 323 patients who did not have hysterectomy, 105 of 270 patients (39%) with sporadic LAM and 13 of 53 (25%) with LAM/TSC had uterine leiomyomas. Hysterectomy was performed in 108 of 378 subjects with sporadic LAM and 25 of 78 with LAM/TSC. Fifty-six patients were found to have uterine fibroids on hysterectomy. The most common indications for hysterectomy were uterine leiomyoma, LAM, and endometriosis.

Conclusion(s): Uterine leiomyomas are not more common in LAM than in the general population. However, in LAM, the frequency of hysterectomy is higher because of it having been recommended for treatment of LAM.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: The authors have no financial or other potential conflicts of interest to disclose

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Prevalence of uterine leiomyomas detected by computed tomography and hysterectomy in 456 patients with LAM, of which 378 had sporadic LAM and 78 had LAM/TSC. Two hundred seventy patients with LAM and 53 patients with LAM/TSC had CT scans. One hundred and eight patients with LAM and 25 patients with LAM/TSC had hysterectomy.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Prevalence of uterine leiomyomas detected by computed tomography and hysterectomy in 182 LAM patients whose age was forty years or less, of which 138 had sporadic LAM and 44 had LAM/TSC. One hundred sixteen patients with LAM and 36 patients with LAM/TSC had CT scans. Twenty two patients with LAM and eight patients with LAM/TSC had hysterectomy.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Taveira-DaSilva AM, Gustavo Pacheco-Rodriguez G, Joel Moss J. The Natural History of Lymphangioleiomyomatosis: Markers of Severity, Rate of Progression and Prognosis. Lymphatic Res Biol. 2010;8:9–19. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ryu JH, Moss J, Beck GJ, Lee JC, Brown KK, Chapman JT, et al. The NHLBI Lymphangioleiomyomatosis Registry: Characteristics of 230 Patients at Enrollment. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2006;173:105–111. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Matsui K, Tatsuguchi A, Valencia J, Yu Z-X, Bechtle J, Beasley M, et al. Extrapulmonary lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM): Clinicopathologic features in 22 cases. Hum Pathol. 2000;31:1242–1248. - PubMed
    1. Costello LC, Hartman TE, Ryu JH. High frequency of pulmonary lymphangioleiomyomatosis in women with tuberous sclerosis complex. Mayo Clin Proc. 2000;75:591–594. - PubMed
    1. Moss J, Avila N, Barnes PM, Litzenberger RA, Bechtle J, Brooks PG, et al. Prevalence and clinical characteristics of lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) in patients with tuberous sclerosis complex. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2001;163:669–671. - PubMed

Publication types