Uterine fibroids and current clinical challenges.

Uterine fibroids (UF) are the most common gynecological tumors in premenopausal women. Hysterectomy remains the major and definitive therapeutic option. Minimally invasive surgical techniques for performing hysterectomy have many advantages over laparotomy. Current drug therapies for UF remain unsatisfactory. Unquestionably, continued investigation of novel agents is necessary. The currently used drugs for UF treatment which exclusively modulate a single target, typically either the estrogen or progesterone signaling pathways, are limited in their therapeutic effects. By contrast, multi-target drugs which simultaneously modulate multiple critical hubs in the network of the signaling pathways underlying UF pathogenesis should achieve robust and durable therapeutic effects.