Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2015 Jun 1;8(6):7610-3.
eCollection 2015.

Endometrial tubal metaplasia in a young puerperal woman after breast cancer

Luisa Di Benedetto  1 , Valentina Giovanale  1 , Donatella Caserta  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Endometrial tubal metaplasia in a young puerperal woman after breast cancer

Luisa Di Benedetto et al. Int J Clin Exp Pathol. .

Abstract

Introduction: Tamoxifen is the usual endocrine (anti-estrogen) therapy for hormone receptor-positive breast cancer in pre and post-menopausal women. Previous studies have suggested an increased prevalence of endometrial diseases after treatment with tamoxifen.

Case presentation: The authors report a case of 38-year-old woman with diagnosis of endometrial polyp and tubal metaplasia, during puerperium and after micropapillary ductal breast cancer surgery, 5 years of tamoxifen treatment, spontaneous pregnancy without complications and full-term vaginal delivery.

Conclusion: Tamoxifen is a safe and reliable treatment of breast cancer, but data suggest an association with endometrial polyps, hyperplasia, metaplasia and carcinoma. One of the most common types of endometrial metaplasia is ciliated tubal metaplasia. It is generally known that endometrial tubal metaplasia is a benign disease. However studies propose endometrial tubal metaplasia to be a potential premalignant endometrial lesion and its association with endometrial hyperplasia and well-differentiated endometrioid carcinoma. We propose close monitoring of patients taking tamoxifen and prompt evaluation of any uterine bleeding or pelvic complaint or abnormal TVUS images.

Keywords: Breast cancer; endometrial polyp; tamoxifen; tubal metaplasia.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Endometrial formation of about 14 mm, visualized during operative hysteroscopy.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Le Donne M, Alibrandi A, Ciancimino L, Azzerboni A, Chiofalo B, Triolo O. Endometrial pathology in breast cancer patients: Effect of different treatments on ultrasonographic, hysteroscopic and histological findings. Oncol Lett. 2013;5:1305–1310. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Gallo MA, Kaufman D. Antagonistic and agonistic effects of tamoxifen: significance in human cancer. Semin Oncol. 1997;24(Suppl 1):S1-71–S1-80. - PubMed
    1. Jordan VC. Fourteenth Gaddum Memorial Lecture. A current view of tamoxifen for the treatment and prevention of breast cancer. Br J Pharmacol. 1993;110:507–17. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. Tamoxifen Information: reducing the incidence of breast cancer in women at high risk. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Archived from the original on June 19, 2007. Retrieved July 3, 2007.
    1. Grilli S. Tamoxifen (TAM): the dispute goes on. Ann Ist Super Sanita. 2006;42:170–3. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources