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Ultrasonographic measurement of endometrial changes following discontinuation of tamoxifen treatment in postmenopausal breast cancer patients
Author(s) -
Cohen Ilan,
Beyth Yoram,
Azaria Ron,
Flex Dov,
Figer Arie,
Tepper Ron
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
bjog: an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.157
H-Index - 164
eISSN - 1471-0528
pISSN - 1470-0328
DOI - 10.1111/j.1471-0528.2000.tb11104.x
Subject(s) - tamoxifen , discontinuation , medicine , endometrium , breast cancer , endometrial cancer , antiestrogen , prospective cohort study , gynecology , ultrasound , urology , cancer , obstetrics , radiology
Objective To assess whether there is a decrease in endometrial thickness following discontinuation of tamoxifen treatment as measured by ultrasound. Design Prospective study. Setting Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Sapir Medical Centre, Kfar‐Saba, Israel. Population Fifty‐eight postmenopausal women with breast cancer who were treated with tamoxifen. Methods Transvaginal ultrasonographic measurements of endometrial thickness. Main outcome measures Evaluation of the changes of endometrial thickness and the frequency the endometrium reached a thickness of ≤ 5 mm at different time intervals after stopping tamoxifen treatment. Results There was a significant decrease in median thickness of the endometrium, within six months after stopping tamoxifen, from 7.75 mm measured at the last ultrasonographic study performed before tamoxifen discontinuation down to 5.2 mm ( P = 0.002 ). There were no further reductions in endometrial thickness, and it remained constantly low in subsequent ultrasonographic studies which were performed at various times up to 30 months following the discontinuation of tamoxifen treatment. While taking tamoxifen, only 25.9% of the women had an endometrial thickness of ≤ 5 mm. This proportion doubled in their first six months after stopping. Conclusions Median thickness of endometrial thickness significantly reduced within six months following tamoxifen discontinuation, and remained constantly low thereafter. This finding may support use of ultrasonographic imaging for the measurement of tamoxifen's effect on the endometrium of postmenopausal breast cancer patients.