Menopausal symptoms in breast cancer survivors on adjuvant endocrine therapy compared with those of menopausal women

Objectives

To compare menopausal symptoms of breast cancer survivors on adjuvant endocrine therapy with those of menopausal women.

Study design

In a retrospective nested case-control study menopausal symptoms were compared of breast cancer survivors in pre-, peri- or post-menopause at the time of diagnosis, on tamoxifen or an aromatase inhibitor, plus a gonadotrophin-releasing hormone analogue, if pre- or peri-menopausal, and age-matched control women either in the late peri-menopause, or in surgical or in physiological post-menopause on no hormone replacement therapy. Differences between women on tamoxifen and those on aromatase inhibitors were also evaluated. Weighted and non-weighted t-tests, chi-square tests, and linear or logistic regressions were applied as appropriate.

Main outcome measures

Score on the Greene's Climacteric Scale and so of its subscales evaluating vasomotor, anxiety, depression, somatisation and sexuality symptoms.

Results

A total of 99 breast cancer survivors (45 on tamoxifen, 54 on aromatase inhibitors) and 554 controls (173 in late perimenopause, 353 in natural and 28 in surgical menopause) were enrolled. The score on the Greene's Climacteric Scale was similar in cases and controls (means ± standard deviation) (21.3 ± 10.4 vs. 22.8 ± 11.5, p = 0.199), as were the subscale scores for vasomotor symptoms, anxiety, and somatisation. The depression score was lower (4.63 ± 3.3 vs. 5.98 ± 3.8; p = 0.001) in breast cancer survivors on adjuvant endocrine therapy, mainly due to a lower score of −2.132 (95 % confidence interval − 3.858/−0.407; p = 0.016) for users of aromatase inhibitors. The sexuality score was higher (1.76 ± 1.1 vs. 1.50 ± 1.1, p = 0.011) than in controls. Differences remained significant when corrected for age, menarche, body mass index, menopausal status (peri- or post-), type of menopause (natural, surgical), use of gonadotrophin-releasing hormone analogues, years of amenorrhea, smoking, alcohol use, and for breast radiotherapy, chemotherapy, tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors. Among breast cancer survivors, women on aromatase inhibitors had lower scores for anxiety (5.75 ± 2.5vs.5.75 ± 2.5; p = 0.045) and depression (3.89 ± 2.5 vs. 5.13 ± 3.6; p = 0.046) than women on tamoxifen.

Conclusions

In breast cancer survivors, adjuvant therapy induces symptoms similar in type and intensity to those of symptomatic menopausal women. Compared with menopausal women, breast cancer survivors, particularly those on aromatase inhibitors, appear to experience less severe depressive symptoms.