TY - JOUR AB - Uterine fibroids are the most common type of benign, gynecologic neoplasm and are the primary indication for performance of a hysterectomy, accounting for >200,000 hysterectomies annually in the USA. At present, females are younger and exhibit larger leiomyomas at the time of diagnosis. Cancer‑associated fibroblasts in tumor microenvironments have emerged as an important target for cancer therapy. Repeated stimulation by infectious or non‑infectious agents in the uterine tissues, including inflammation, mechanical forces or hypoxia, stimulate the resident fibroblasts to undergo specific activation and, thus, are significant in tumorigenesis. Furthermore, complex signaling pathways regulate the mechanisms of fibroblastic activation. The current review focuses on the molecular mechanisms of fibroblastic activation and the potential association with uterine leiomyoma pathogenesis, enabling an integrated pathogenic analysis for review of the therapeutic options. AD - Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Yangpu District Central Hospital, Shanghai 200090, P.R. China Department of Breast Surgery, Yangpu Hospital, Tongji University, Shanghai 200090, P.R. China Faculty of Medicine, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Baden‑Württemberg D‑69120, Germany Department of Oncology, University Hospital of Basel, Basel‑Stadt CH 4055, Switzerland AU - Zheng,Li‑Hua AU - Cai,Feng‑Feng AU - Ge,Isabell AU - Biskup,Ewelina AU - Cheng,Zhong‑Ping DA - 2014/08/01 DO - 10.3892/ol.2014.2225 EP - 486 IS - 2 JO - Oncol Lett KW - fibroblasts fibroblast activation uterine fibroids α‑smooth muscle actin transforming growth factor‑β PY - 2014 SN - 1792-1074 1792-1082 SP - 479 ST - Stromal fibroblast activation and their potential association with uterine fibroids (Review) T2 - Oncology Letters TI - Stromal fibroblast activation and their potential association with uterine fibroids (Review) UR - https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2014.2225 VL - 8 ER -