Abstract
Introduction: Tamoxifen treatment has been shown to reduce the recurrence and mortality rates in hormone receptor-positive breast cancers independent from chemotherapy. This benefit increases with the prolongation of the use of tamoxifen but with increasing side effects. In this study, we aim to evaluate the presence of urogenital symptoms in breast cancer patients on tamoxifen and compare them with those who are not on any hormonotherapy.Materials and methods: This study was performed on patients diagnosed as early-stage breast cancer. The study group consisted of hormone receptor-positive patients given tamoxifen as adjuvant hormonal therapy. The control group consisted of breast cancer patients who had no hormonotherapy. Patients with a complaint of urinary incontinence with onset after tamoxifen usage were evaluated with Urogenital Distress Inventory Short Form (UDI-6), Incontinence Impact Questionnaire Short Form (IIQ-7) and Incontinence Quality of Life Questionnaire (I-QOL).Results: A total of 137 early-stage breast cancer patients were included in this study; 74 estrogen receptor-positive patients on tamoxifen therapy (study group) and 63 hormone receptor-negative patients with no hormonotherapy (control group). The median age was 44 (30-65) years for tamoxifen users and 49 (27-64) years for the control group. The stages of the patients were similar for both groups. 78.4% of the women in the tamoxifen group and 49.2% in the control group were in the premenopausal period. The groups were similar in regard to body mass index and parity. The complaint of urinary incontinence was more frequent in the study group compared to controls (39 (52.7%) vs. 5 (7.9%)). Women with the complaint of urinary incontinence were evaluated with self-reported UDI-6, IIQ-7 and I-QOL forms and the scores were similar for both study and control groups. A statistically significant relation was observed between cigarette smoking and the presence of urinary incontinence. The percentages of smokers were 50% of those with incontinence and 24.7% of those without incontinence.Conclusion: Urinary incontinence is positively correlated with tamoxifen usage in early-stage breast cancer patients.
Highlights
Tamoxifen treatment has been shown to reduce the recurrence and mortality rates in hormone receptor-positive breast cancers independent from chemotherapy
We aim to evaluate the presence of urogenital symptoms in breast cancer patients on tamoxifen and compare them with those who are not on any hormonotherapy
A total of 137 early-stage breast cancer patients were included in this study; 74 estrogen receptor-positive patients on tamoxifen therapy and 63 hormone receptor-negative patients with no hormonotherapy
Summary
Tamoxifen treatment has been shown to reduce the recurrence and mortality rates in hormone receptor-positive breast cancers independent from chemotherapy. This benefit increases with the prolongation of the use of tamoxifen but with increasing side effects. How to cite this article Imamoglu G, Eren T, Arzu O, et al (August 18, 2019) Is Tamoxifen Use a Factor Affecting Continence in Breast Cancer Patients?. With a 43.0/100,000 age-standardized cancer rate, breast cancer is the leading cancer in women in Turkey [2]. In hormone receptor-positive breast cancer subtype, constituting about 75% of all cases, endocrine treatment has been shown to reduce the recurrence and mortality rates, independent from chemotherapy [3]. Adjuvant endocrine treatment shows its effect via creating estrogen deprivation, either at the receptor level (SERMs) or by blocking its synthesis (aromatase inhibitors); the latter being an option for the postmenopausal group
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