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
. 2024 Aug;206(3):543-550.
doi: 10.1007/s10549-024-07323-9. Epub 2024 May 6.

Effectiveness of gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists for ovarian function suppression in premenopausal patients with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer: a retrospective single-center real-world study

Yifei Chen #  1 , Ruyan Zhang #  1 , Ying Yan  1 , Huiping Li  2 , Guohong Song  3
Affiliations

Effectiveness of gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists for ovarian function suppression in premenopausal patients with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer: a retrospective single-center real-world study

Yifei Chen et al. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2024 Aug.

Abstract

Purpose: This study evaluated the effectiveness of ovarian function suppression (OFS) of various gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists (GnRHa) combined with aromatase inhibitors (AI) in premenopausal patients with hormone receptor-positive (HR-positive) breast cancer. Potential risk factors associated with insufficient OFS were analyzed.

Patients and methods: Premenopausal HR-positive breast cancer patients who had received AI with GnRHa were studied retrospectively. Patients were divided into different groups according to monthly or trimonthly GnRHa schedules they received, and the effectiveness of OFS was compared between groups. Insufficient OFS was defined as at least one instance of estradiol ≥ 30 pg/ml. Patient data was gathered from medical records for this comparison.

Results: Of the 264 patients enrolled in this study, 117 were administered 3.6 mg of goserelin monthly (goserelin 1 M group), 63 received 3.75 mg of leuprorelin monthly (leuprorelin 1 M group) and 84 were given 11.25 mg of leuprorelin every three months (leuprorelin 3 M group). Overall, 7.20% experienced insufficient OFS. The incidence rates in the three GnRHa depot groups were 7.69%, 6.35%, and 7.14%, respectively, without a significant statistical difference (P = 0.900). Notably, younger patients exhibited a higher likelihood of insufficient OFS [OR = 0.900, 95%CI (0.824-0.982), P = 0.018].

Conclusion: Insufficient OFS remains a concern during GnRHa and AI treatment. The effectiveness of the three GnRHa depots commonly used in China seems comparable. Younger patients face a heightened risk of insufficient OFS.

Keywords: Breast cancer; Gonadotropin releasing hormone agonists (GnRHa); Ovarian function suppression; Real-world.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

References

    1. Rugo HS. The breast cancer continuum in hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer in postmenopausal women: evolving management options focusing on aromatase inhibitors. Ann Oncol. 2008;19(1):16–27. doi: 10.1093/annonc/mdm282. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Fan L, Strasser-Weippl K, Li JJ, St Louis J, Finkelstein DM, Yu KD, Chen WQ, Shao ZM, Goss PE. Breast cancer in China. Lancet Oncol. 2014;15(7):e279–289. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(13)70567-9. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Yeo W, Ueno T, Lin CH, Liu Q, Lee KH, Leung R, Naito Y, Park YH, Im SA, Li H, et al. Treating HR+/HER2- breast cancer in premenopausal Asian women: Asian Breast Cancer Cooperative Group 2019 Consensus and position on ovarian suppression. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2019;177(3):549–559. doi: 10.1007/s10549-019-05318-5. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Guo R, Si J, Xue J, Su Y, Mo M, Yang B, Zhang Q, Chi W, Chi Y, Wu J. Changing patterns and survival improvements of young breast cancer in China and SEER database, 1999–2017. Chin J Cancer Res. 2019;31(4):653–662. doi: 10.21147/j.issn.1000-9604.2019.04.09. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Pagani O, Regan MM, Walley BA, Fleming GF, Colleoni M, Lang I, Gomez HL, Tondini C, Burstein HJ, Perez EA, et al. Adjuvant exemestane with ovarian suppression in premenopausal breast cancer. N Engl J Med. 2014;371(2):107–118. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1404037. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

MeSH terms