Figure 1.

Participant groups and procedures. The participants will be allocated into case or control groups and tissues will be sourced according to the course of clinical intervention: Participants with fibroids treated by transcervical resection (TCRF) will not undergo abdominal surgery, while abdominal surgery is necessary if the fibroids are treated by laparoscopy, open myomectomy or hysterectomy. In these cases, peritoneal fluid can be obtained in addition to the tissue samples (fibroid, myometrium, endometrium). Endometriosis patients will undergo laparoscopy. If found without endometriosis, they will be grouped with the controls, who are women undergoing surgery for other, unrelated conditions (eg, tubular ligation).