Reducing the Risk of Premature Ovarian Failure With LHRH Analog Administration With Chemotherapy in Breast Cancer

Clinical Pearls

Halle Moore, MD, medical oncologist, Cleveland Clinic, discusses aphase III trial presented at the 2014 ASCO Annual Meetingthat looked at reducing the risk of premature ovarian failure with LHRH analog administration with chemotherapy in women with breast cancer.

• The randomized phase III POEMS study looked at whether suppressing ovarian function during adjuvant or neoadjuvant chemotherapy could reduce the risk for long term ovarian failure in premenopausal women with ER-negative breast cancer.
• Patients were randomized to receive standard cyclophosphamide-containing chemotherapy with or without monthly LHRH analog goserelin.
• There was a significant reduction (about 70%) in the ovarian failure rate observed in the group treated with goserelin.
• At 2 years, women who received goserelin had better preserved ovarian function.
• There was a higher rate of achieving pregnancy and having successful births among women who received goserelin. There was no evidence that goserelin increased the risk of miscarriage, need for elective termination, or other adverse pregnancy events.
• The goserelin group had an improved disease-free survival as well as overall survival compared with the control group.

<<<

View more from the 2014 ASCO Annual Meeting