Amenorrhea in lung cancer patients.

Abstract

e20092 Background: More than 5,000 premenopausal women are diagnosed (dx’d) with lung cancer annually in the United States. Improvements in treatment are contributing to a growing population of young survivors. Limited data exist regarding the risk of treatment-related amenorrhea, a surrogate for infertility and early menopause, after systemic therapies for lung cancer. Methods: Since 1997, we mailed annual surveys to patients seen at Mayo Clinic for lung cancer who consented to join a research cohort. Surveys queried menopausal status and age of menopause. Those who were dx’d under age 50, who were treated with curative intent, and who reported that they were premenopausal at the time of the cancer dx were included in this analysis. “Immediate” treatment-related menopause was defined as reporting age of menopause as the same as the age at diagnosis or 1 year (yr) older. Results: Of 182 survey respondents to date (mean time from dx to 1st survey: 26 mos, SD 24 mos, range 12-202 mos), 85 (mean age 44 yrs, SD 5, range 34-48) received chemo during the yr after diagnosis, 26 of whom also received targeted therapy during that yr. Lung cancer dx occurred 1958-2016. Platinum drugs, taxanes, and etoposide were the most common chemotherapies. 46% of chemo recipients (mean age 47, SD 2, range 41-49) experienced immediate menopause, 9% (mean age 43 yrs, SD 5, range 35-48) experienced menopause at least 2 yrs after the age of dx, and 45% (mean age 40 yrs, SD 5, range 25-48) remained pre- or peri-menopausal at their final survey (on average 3 years after dx, SD 2, range 1-10). Only 3 patients received targeted therapy alone, and the remaining 94 (mean age 42 yrs, SD 6 years) received no systemic therapy within a year of diagnosis. 15% of these 94 (mean age 45 yrs, SD 3, range 41-49) experienced immediate menopause, 16% (mean age 43 yrs, SD 4, range 36-49) experienced menopause 2+ yrs after the age of diagnosis, and 69% (mean age 41 yrs, SD 7, range 20-49) remained pre- or perimenopausal at their final survey (on average 4 yrs after dx, SD 3, range 1-10). Conclusions: Chemotherapy for lung cancer causes amenorrhea in a substantial proportion of women dx’d with lung cancer while premenopausal. Further research on fertility and menopausal symptoms after lung cancer treatment, and on differences between regimens, is warranted.