Fertility and menopausal outcomes in young breast cancer survivors

Abstract

Background: Following treatment for breast cancer, many young women are interested in having a child. There are few data available regarding actual fertility and menopausal outcomes in young breast cancer survivors. We evaluated these outcomes among young breast cancer survivors in collaboration with the Young Survival Coalition, an international advocacy group for young women with breast cancer.

Patients and methods: All registered Young Survival Coalition survivor members were sent a link to the survey about fertility issues for women with early-stage breast cancer via e-mail; 440 women who completed the survey were eligible for this analysis. Survey respondents were a median of 2.8 years from diagnosis. Mean age at breast cancer diagnosis was 32.6 years.

Results: Of the 440 women in this cohort, 247 women (56%) recalled that they had desired a future pregnancy at diagnosis, and 43 women (10%) took steps to preserve fertility. A total of 384 women (87%) received chemotherapy. A total of 295 women (67%) reported that they remained premenopausal, and an additional 33 women (8%) were receiving ovarian suppression therapy at the time of the survey. Since diagnosis, 70 women (16%) had been pregnant > or = 1 time; 40 women (9%) had > or = 1 live birth. Out of the 247 women who reported wanting a future pregnancy at diagnosis, 59 (24%) had become pregnant. Of the 60 women who reported having tried to become pregnant since diagnosis, 34 (57%) were successful.

Conclusion: Most young women remain premenopausal after breast cancer treatment, including chemotherapy. A relatively small percentage of women in this series had become pregnant; however, the median time since diagnosis was relatively short.