Relationship between reproductive history, anthropometrics, lifestyle factors, and the likelihood of persistent chemotherapy-related amenorrhea in women with premenopausal breast cancer

Objective To determine the association between patient characteristics at diagnosis of premenopausal breast cancer, including gravidity, parity, age at menarche, age at first birth, alcohol use, smoking history, weight, height, and body mass index (BMI), with the development of persistent chemotherapy-related amenorrhea (CRA) in follow-up. Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Patient(s) Premenopausal women with breast cancer. Intervention(s) We identified all premenopausal women who received standard adjuvant chemotherapy during 1997–2005 for whom menstrual data were available. Multivariable logistic regression models evaluating persistent amenorrhea at ≥6 month after completion of chemotherapy were conducted. Main Outcome Measure(s) Persistent chemotherapy-related amenorrhea (CRA) at ≥6 months from completion of chemotherapy. Result(s) A total of 431 women met eligibility criteria and had ≥6-months’ follow-up. Women with older (>13 years) vs. younger (12–13 years) age at menarche were more than twice as likely to remain amenorrheic. Current smokers had 2.4 greater odds of CRA vs. never smokers, although this association was not statistically significant (95% confidence interval, 0.86–6.75). Conclusion(s) Few identifiable factors contribute to the variability in CRA among premenopausal women after adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer. Further research to improve the prediction of CRA, premature menopause, and infertility in young breast cancer survivors is warranted.