Efectos del tamoxifeno en el epitelio vaginal y los ovarios

Abstract

Objective To analyze the effects of tamoxifen on the vaginal epithelium and ovaries in patients treated with this drug for estrogen-dependent breast cancer. Patients and method We studied 92 women who received tamoxifen therapy for breast cancer from 2000 to 2003. The effects of tamoxifen on the vaginal epithelium and the association between this drug and the presence of ovarian cysts were analyzed. Results Although tamoxifen is an antiestrogenic drug, in postmenopausal women an estrogenic effect on the vaginal epithelium was found. Vaginal swabs showed estrogen stimulation in 87% of menopausal women receiving tamoxifen compared with 20.9% of the control group (menopausal women with breast cancer not receiving tamoxifen; p < 0.001). Ovarian cysts were found in 13% of the population studied, corresponding to women who were younger, premenopausal or with less than a year of menopause; the cysts resolved spontaneously. Only one patient underwent surgery due to abnormal Doppler findings corresponding to a hemorrhagic luteal cyst.