Prognostic Effects of Adjuvant Chemotherapy-Induced Amenorrhea and Subsequent Resumption of Menstruation for Premenopausal Breast Cancer Patients

Chemotherapy-induced amenorrhea (CIA) is a side effect that occurs in patients with breast cancer (BC) as a result of chemotherapy. These patients require special treatments to avoid infertility and menopause. However, the factors controlling CIA, resumption of menstruation (RM), and persistence of menstruation after chemotherapy are unknown. The long-term prognosis for premenopausal patients with BC and the prognostic factors associated with CIA and RM are subject to debate. We performed a retrospective study by reviewing the medical records of 249 patients with BC (stage I to stage III) who were treated with cytotoxic chemotherapy. The median patient age was 43 (range, 26-55 years) and the median duration of follow-up was 64 months (range, 28-100 months). The medical records indicated that 219 patients (88.0%) scored as positive for the hormone receptor (HR); the majority of these patients completed chemotherapy and then received additional therapy of tamoxifen. Our analyses revealed that 88.0% (n=219) of patients experienced CIA, and the percentage of RM during follow-up was 48.6% (n=121). A total of 30 patients (12.0%) did not experience CIA. Disease-free survival (DFS) was affected by several factors, including tumour size >= 2cm, node positivity, HR negative status, and body mass index >= 23kg/m(2). Multivariate analysis indicated that tumour size >= 2cm remained as a significant factor for DFS (hazard ratio=3.3, P=0.034). In summary, this study finds that the majority of premenopausal patients with BC (stage I to stage III) who receive chemotherapy experience CIA and subsequent RM. Although tumour size >= 2cm is negatively associated with DFS, RM after CIA is not associated with poor prognosis.