Endometrial Biopsy in Low-Risk Women: Are We Over-Investigating?

The appropriate age at which to perform endometrial biopsy for abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB) is controversial. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of malignant and premalignant pathologies in women aged 41–49 years with AUB and without risk factors for endometrial cancer. Records of women who had undergone a biopsy at the gynaecology clinic of the Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal between 2014 and 2018 were reviewed. Of the 209 women included in the study, 2 had atypical hyperplasia, which resolved without treatment, and 3 had hyperplasia without atypia. The remaining women had benign results, showing that the prevalence of malignant and premalignant endometrial pathologies is low in this subgroup of patients.     

Cassandra’s prophecy: education,education, education

This is a commentary on the personal account of Jane Everywoman. It reflects on her experiences and thoughts. The author adds context from her own work with the Progress Educational Trust, the Daisy Network Premature Menopause Support Group and the National Infertility Awareness Campaign. Examples of the mixed messages and the confusion surrounding fertility, infertility and the possible solutions which appear in the media have been included to further illustrate many of the issues raised by Jane. The updated NICE fertility guideline is discussed together with its implementation.     

Clinical Studies Investigating the Use of Leuprorelin in Breast Cancer Patients from Asia

Leuprorelin is a synthetic analogue of naturally occurring gonadotropin-releasing hormone. It is currently approvedin the United States, Europe and Asia and has indications in advanced prostate cancer, endometriosis, breast cancer andprecocious puberty. This review examined clinical trials of leuprorelin in women with breast cancer in Asia. Methods:Four studies were identified, involving 999 premenopausal females with breast cancer. Leuprorelin was administeredsubcutaneously at doses of 3.75 mg every 4 weeks, 11.25 mg every 12 weeks or 22.5 mg every 24 weeks in additionto either adjuvant chemotherapy or hormonal therapy. Results: Leuprorelin was shown to preserve ovarian function,reduce symptoms of ovarian failure, the occurrence of early menopause, and the time to resumption of menses.Leuprorelin-related adverse events included hot flush, mood swings and urogenital symptoms. Conclusion: Clinicalstudies in breast cancer patients from Asia have primarily investigated the effect of leuprorelin on the protection ofovarian function in patients who receive chemotherapy, assessed the ability of leuprorelin to suppress serum estradiolto menopausal levels, or to determine the efficacy and safety of leuprorelin in daily medical practice.     

Osteoporosis Risk in Premenopausal Women

Although clinically significant bone loss and fractures in healthy premenopausal women are rare, more women are seeking evaluation for osteoporosis from their health care providers. As pharmacists are in an ideal position to influence the management of premenopausal women with osteoporosis, it is important that pharmacists understand the available data on bone loss, fractures, and risk factors and secondary causes for osteoporosis, as well as when to recommend testing and treatment in premenopausal women. Limited data are available; therefore, we conducted a MEDLINE search of the literature from January 1993-August 2008. Studies evaluating bone loss, fractures, and fracture risk in healthy premenopausal women were targeted and summarized; most recommendations are based on expert opinion. A small but statistically significant loss in bone mineral density of 0.25-1%/year by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry is seen healthy premenopausal women; the clinical significance of this is unknown. Whereas absolute fracture risk is low, premenopausal fractures appear to increase postmenopausal fracture risk by 1.5-3-fold. Risk factors for low bone density appear to be similar between pre- and postmenopausal women. Bone density screening in healthy premenopausal women is not recommended, but bone mineral density testing is advisable for those who have conditions or who receive drug therapy that may cause secondary bone loss. Lifestyle modification emphasizing bone-healthy habits such as adequate calcium and vitamin D nutrition, regular exercise, limitation of caffeine and alcohol consumption, and avoidance of tobacco are essential to the management of osteoporosis risk. The efficacy and safety of osteoporosis drugs have not been adequately demonstrated in premenopausal women. Therefore, pharmacologic interventions cannot be recommended in young women with low bone mass but may be considered in those having a more significant fracture risk, such as those with a previous low-trauma fracture or an identified secondary cause for bone loss.     

基于经验辨证的更年期综合征围绝经期和绝经后期常见证候及证候要素分布

目的：通过规范专家经验辨证,提取证候要素,总结更年期综合征围绝经期和绝经后期两个阶段的常见证候及其证候要素的分布特点,并比较两者的异同。方法：纳入2006年10月～2007年6月就诊于全国7家三级甲等医院且符合疾病诊断和纳入标准的1582例更年期综合征门诊患者,对其进行临床流行病学调查,在专家经验辨证证候名称规范化的基础上,提取炳位和病性类证候要素,并进行统计学分析。结果：经初步规范后,涉及证候名称105个,常见证候是肾阴虚、肝肾阴虚、肝气郁结和肾阴阳两虚证。在此基础上提取病位类证候要素6个,病性类证候要素17个。出现较多的病位类证候要素是肾、肝、脾、心,病,胜类证候要素是阴虚、气滞、气虚、阳虚、虚。围绝经期肝气郁结、脾肾两虚及气滞的分布较绝经后期明显增多,而绝经后期则多见肾阴虚证,且病位多在肾,其余证候与证候要素的分布趋势基本相似。结论：更年期综合征的证候分布具有复杂多样的特点,证候要素分布则相对简约。围绝经期和绝经后期两阶段的证候、证候要素在总体分布上具有一致性,但在一些证候及证候要素的出现频率上存在明显差异,可为     

Comparison of HER-2/neu, ER and PCNA expression in premenopausal and postmenopausal patients with breast carcinoma

We attempted to compare the pattern of HER-2/neu, ER and PCNA in premenopausal and postmenopausal patients with breast carcinoma to identify potential biological differences. Five hundred and forty-eight samples from 318 premenopausal and 230 postmenopausal women with invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast were evaluated for HER-2/neu, ER and PCNA expression by immunohistochemistry. HER-2/neu expression showed 27.4% positivity in premenopausal and 24.8% in postmenopausal women; there was no significant difference between the two groups (p>0.05). In contrast, HER-2/neu expression was found to be significantly associated with ER negativity in the two groups (p<0.05 in premenopausal, p<0.001 in postmenopausal patients). However, it was significantly associated with PCNA expression only in the postmenopausal group (p<0.001). 54.4% showed premenopausal tumor cell ER positivity, whereas 64.3% of the postmenopausal group showed positivity. ER expression showed a significant correlation with patient menopausal status (p<0.05). The prevalence of PCNA positivity in the tumor cell components is slightly higher in postmenopausal compared to premenopausal women (p>0.20). The current study is consistent with reports from other groups regarding the correlation of HER-2/neu with adverse pathologic features and with expression of other markers in carcinoma. We also observed there was no trend toward increased HER-2/neu expression in either premenopausal or postmenopausal patients, i.e. there was similar HER-2/neu expression in the two groups. This suggests that HER-2/neu status could be used to determine assignment to specific intensive adjuvant therapy and evaluation of biological behavior in both pre- and postmenopausal patients with breast carcinoma.     

Tamoxifen (Nolvadex) for premenopausal patients with advanced breast cancer

Summary Clinical results of tamoxifen (Nolvadex-ICI) monotherapy in 44 premenopausal women with advanced breast cancer have been reviewed. Objective tumor regression was achieved in 12 (27%) patients and a further 10 (22%) were classified as stabilized. Median duration of response was 12.7 months at the time of analysis. Greatest benefits occurred in soft tissue dominant and receptor-positive tumors, but there was no correlation between tumor response and other clinical manifestations of estrogen deprivation (e.g. menstrual disturbance, hot flushes).The benefits of conventional doses of tamoxifen do not therefore appear to be influenced by menopausal status and compare favorably to achievements reported after surgical oophorectomy.     

Effect of lifetime lactation on breast cancer risk: a Korean women's cohort study

The objective of our study was to examine the effect of lifetime lactation on breast cancer risk among premenopausal women. The data were from a prospective cohort study with a follow-up period of 6 years in Korea (1995-2000). The cohort was composed of 110,604 premenopausal parous Korean women, aged 20 years and older, who received health insurance from the Korea Medical Insurance Corporation and who had medical evaluations in 1992 and 1994. Multivariate Cox proportional hazard models were tested, controlling for age, age at menarche, number of children, age at first pregnancy, oral contraceptive use, smoking, exercise and obesity. At baseline, 57,440 (51.9%) reported breastfeeding and 4,584 (4.1%) reported breastfeeding more than 24 months. From 1995-2000, 360 incident cases of breast cancer (61.8/100,000 person-years) occurred. Compared to parous women who had no history of lactation, a period of lactation of 13-24 months decreased the risk of breast cancer (RR, 0.7; 95% CI, 0.5-1.1), and this risk was decreased even further for those who breastfed for more than 24 months (RR, 0.6; 95% CI, 0.3-1.0). There was a clear trend of decreasing breast cancer risk with the duration of lactation (p for trend <0.001). In conclusion, our study of a large Korean cohort provides additional empirical evidence to current theoretical conjecture that lactation decreases the risk of breast cancer among premenopausal women.     

Association between Bone Turnover,Micronutrient Intake,and Blood Lead Levels in Pre-and Postmenopausal Women,NHANES 1999–2002

Background

Blood lead levels (BLLs) have been shown to increase during periods of high bone turnover such as pregnancy and menopause.

Objectives

We examined the associations between bone turnover and micronutrient intake with BLLs in women 20–85 years of age (n = 2,671) participating in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999–2002.

Methods

Serum bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BAP) and urinary cross-linked N-telopeptides (NTx) were measured as markers of bone formation and resorption, respectively. Lead was quantified in whole blood. The association between tertiles of BAP and NTx, and BLLs was examined using linear regression with natural log_-transformed BLLs as the dependent variable and interpreted as the percent difference in geometric mean BLLs.

Results

In adjusted analyses, mean BLLs among postmenopausal women in the upper tertiles of NTx and BAP were 34% [95% confidence interval (CI), 23%–45%] and 30% (95% CI, 17%–43%) higher than BLLs among women in the lowest tertiles of NTx and BAP, respectively. These associations were weaker, but remained statistically significant, among premenopausal women (NTx: 10%; 95% CI, 0.60%–19%; BAP: 14%; 95% CI, 6%–22%). Within tertiles of NTx and BAP, calcium intake above the Dietary Reference Intake (DRI), compared with below the DRI, was associated with lower mean BLLs among postmenopausal women but not premenopausal women, although most of the associations were not statistically significant. We observed similar associations for vitamin D supplement use.

Conclusions

Bone resorption and bone formation were associated with a significant increase in BLLs among pre-and postmenopausal women.