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Relationship of menopausal symptoms and ovarian reserve in reproductive-aged cancer survivors

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Abstract

Purpose

This study sought to evaluate the prevalence of menopausal symptoms in a population of reproductive-aged women remote from cancer therapy compared with a group of healthy similar-aged controls and with a cohort of late reproductive-aged (LR) controls.

Methods

Participants were assessed for symptoms of menopause, early follicular phase hormones, and ultrasound examinations. Menopausal symptoms were analyzed in exposed participants and controls using χ2 analyses, Wilcoxon-Mann Whitney tests, and multivariable logistic regression models.

Results

One hundred seventy cancer survivors, 135 similar-aged controls, and 71 LR controls were followed prospectively for an average of 38 months. Compared with similar-aged controls, a greater proportion of survivors reported vasomotor symptoms at some point over the study period (35% vs 19%, p < 0.01), and this proportion was similar to LR controls (44%, p = 0.22). Survivors were more likely to be bothered by vaginal dryness (27%) than similar-aged controls (16%, p = 0.02) or LR controls (14%, p = 0.02). FSH levels were 38.4% higher in those with vasomotor symptoms compared with those without symptoms (p = 0.021).

Conclusions

Reproductive-aged cancer survivors have a higher prevalence of vasomotor symptoms and vaginal dryness than their similar-aged peers.

Implications for Cancer Survivors

Providers should be attuned to the high prevalence of menopausal symptoms in cancer survivors.

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Funding

This study was financially supported by grant nos. K01 L:1-CA-133839-03, 1R01HD062797 (CG), and T32-HD007440 (KC).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 3400 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA

    Anat Chemerinski

  2. Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Katherine Cameron & Clarisa Gracia

  3. Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Mary Sammel

  4. Oncology, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Jill Ginsberg & Claire Carlson

Authors
  1. Anat Chemerinski
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  2. Katherine Cameron
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  3. Mary Sammel
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  4. Jill Ginsberg
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  5. Claire Carlson
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  6. Clarisa Gracia
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anat Chemerinski.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Chemerinski, A., Cameron, K., Sammel, M. et al. Relationship of menopausal symptoms and ovarian reserve in reproductive-aged cancer survivors. J Cancer Surviv 14, 607–613 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11764-020-00857-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11764-020-00857-z

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