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Hum. Reprod. Advance Access first published online on July 4, 2006
This version published online on July 11, 2006
Human Reproduction, doi:10.1093/humrep/del201
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© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org
Received February 14, 2006
Revised March 30, 2006
Accepted April 3, 2006

Article

The effects of chemotherapy and long-term gonadotrophin suppression on the ovarian reserve in premenopausal women with breast cancer

R.A. Anderson 1 *, A.P.N. Themmen 2, A. Al-Qahtani 3, N.P. Groome 3, and D.A. Cameron 4

1 Centre for Reproductive Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
2 Department of Internal Medicine, Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
3 Oxford Brookes University, Oxford
4 Department of Oncology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
R.A. Anderson, E-mail: richard.anderson{at}ed.ac.uk


  Abstract

BACKGROUND Reproductive function following cancer treatment is of increasing importance with improving survival rates. We therefore assessed the markers of the ovarian reserve in premenopausal women, to investigate and compare the effects of chemotherapy and long-term gonadotrophin withdrawal on ovarian function. METHODS Fifty premenopausal (age range 28-52 years) women with early breast cancer were recruited. Serum hormone and ovarian ultrasound measurements were taken before treatment and at intervals up to 1 year during chemotherapy or gonadotrophin suppressive therapy. RESULTS Pretreatment samples indicated a fall in anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) concentration with age before changes in other hormone concentrations. AMH concentration showed a rapid and marked fall during chemotherapy, with undetectable concentrations in many women (P < 0.0001). Inhibin B concentration showed a lesser fall (P < 0.0001), whereas estradiol (E2) concentrations were maintained. Both antral follicle count (AFC) and ovarian volume fell (P < 0.0001 and P < 0.05 respectively). Regimens containing taxanes in addition to cyclophosphamide showed increased gonadotoxicity. Gonadotrophin suppression resulted in expected falls in E2 (P < 0.05) and inhibin B (P < 0.001) levels, but also resulted in a delayed fall in AMH level after 6 months (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS These data confirm the value of AMH concentration as an early indicator of ovarian ageing including assessment of chemotherapy-induced ovarian follicle loss. FSH and AMH concentration measurements may be useful for the comparison of ovarian toxicity of different chemotherapy regimens.

Keywords: anti-Müllerian hormone/chemotherapy/gonadotrophin/ovary.

This new version contains a correction to the author’s name


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