Challenges in the gynecologic care of premenopausal women with breast cancer

Premenopausal women with a new diagnosis of breast cancer are faced with many challenges. Providing health care for issues such as gynecologic comorbidities, reproductive health concerns, and vasomotor symptom control can be complicated because of the risks of hormone treatments and the adverse effects of adjuvant therapies. It is paramount that health care professionals understand and be knowledgeable about hormonal and nonhormonal treatments and their pharmacological parameters so they can offer appropriate care to women who have breast cancer, with the goal of improving quality of life. Articles for this review were identified by searching the PubMed database with no date limitations. The following search terms were used: abnormal uterine bleeding, physiologic sex steroids, endometrial ablation, hysteroscopic sterilization, fertility preservation in endometrial cancer, tranexamic acid and breast cancer, menorrhagia treatment and breast cancer, abnormal uterine bleeding and premenopausal breast cancer, levonorgestrel IUD and breast cancer, tamoxifen and gynecologic abnormalities, tamoxifen metabolism, hormones and breast cancer risk, contraception and breast cancer, pregnancy and breast cancer, and breast cancer and infertility treatment.     

Educating women about benign breast disease

The occupational health nurse can be a valuable resource for women by teaching how their bodies work and how female hormones affect their breasts. Nurses who work in primary care should view their role as one of education and advocacy on behalf of the client. Nurses can model a healthy attitude about breast self examination, encouraging women to perform it and to discuss openly their questions and concerns. Women should be encouraged to have mammograms, following ACS guidelines: a baseline mammogram between the ages of 35 and 40, a mammogram every 1 to 2 years between the ages of 40 and 49, and a yearly mammogram after age 50.     

Blood flow in functional cysts and benign ovarian neoplasms in premenopausal women.

To assess the value of transvaginal color Doppler sonography in the differentiation of functional cysts from benign ovarian neoplasms in premenopausal women, 100 premenopausal women with the diagnosis of adnexal mass were enrolled in a prospective study. All patients underwent transvaginal color Doppler sonography during the follicular phase. We evaluated 107 masses. Tumor volume and morphology were assessed, as were tumor blood flow location, the number of vessels, the resistive and pulsatility indices, and the peak systolic velocity. Patients were followed up after 8 to 10 weeks by transvaginal sonography. Functional cysts were considered when spontaneous resolution occurred. Surgery was performed if a tumor enlarged or persisted after two scans. Thirty-nine (36.5%) cysts regressed spontaneously and 68 (63.5%) were removed surgically. Seven of the latter were follicular or luteal cysts and were considered to be functional cysts. No carcinoma was found. Arterial blood flow was detected in 28 (60.8%) functional cysts and in 42 (68.8%) benign neoplasms (P = 0.3446). The vessels were located peripherally in 27 (94.6%) functional cysts and in 37 (88.1%) benign neoplasms (P = 0.2226). No differences were found between functional cysts and benign neoplasms in mean resistive index (0.65, 95% confidence interval: 0.59 to 0.71 versus 0.64, 95% confidence interval: 0.60 to 0.69), mean pulsatility index (1.47, 95% confidence interval: 1.17 to 1.84 versus 1.57, 95% confidence interval: 1.26 to 1.86), number of vessels (1.1, 95% confidence interval: 0.7 to 1.3 versus 1.4, 95% confidence interval: 1.1 to 1.8), and peak systolic velocity (28.6 cm/s, 95% confidence interval: 24.7 to 34.2 versus 24.9 cm/s, 95% confidence interval: 21.6 to 28.3). We concluded that transvaginal color Doppler sonography is not useful to discriminate between functional ovarian cysts and benign ovarian neoplasms in premenopausal women.     

绝经前良性乳腺疾病血清性激素水平

目的探讨绝经前良性乳腺疾病血清性激素水平的改变。方法用化学发光法测定107例女性良性乳腺疾病患者血清中雌二醇（E2）、孕酮（P）、睾酮（T）、垂体泌乳素（PRL）、黄体生成素（LH）和促卵泡生成素（FSH）水平。依据手术后病理检查诊断结果分组,分析各组良性乳腺疾病血E2、P、T、PRL、LH和FSH含量的变化。结果乳腺纤维腺瘤组E2水平814.9pmol/L与健康对照组595.2pmol/L相比明显增高,T和PRL水平分别为1.135nmol/L和185.3U/L,比健康对照组1.450nmol/L和258.3U/L低;乳腺增生组P、T、PRL水平分别为3.85nmol/L、1.020nmol/L和157.6U/L,比健康对照组低,LH和FSH分别为4.540U/L和3.28U/L,比健康对照组（2.770U/L和3.60U/L）高;乳腺纤维腺瘤组与增生组比较,乳腺纤维腺瘤组E2和P的水平高于乳腺增生组,而乳腺增生组LH和FSH水平比乳腺纤维腺瘤组（4.540U/L和3.28U/L）高。乳腺纤维腺瘤组黄体期E2高于健康对照组黄体期,T和PRL水平低于健康对照组,差异均有统计学意义（P〈0.05）;乳腺增生黄体期组与健康对照组相比,T和PRL水平显著降低,差异有统计学意义（P〈0.01）。结论良性乳腺疾病时,性激素的水平的改变,特别是T和PRL水平的降低,对良性乳腺疾病的发生和发展可能起到重要的作用。     

Postoperative adjuvant therapy for premenopausal patients with breast cancer

The age peak of breast cancer morbidity is younger in Japan in comparison with that in Western countries. This results in a higher incidence of premenopausal patients in Japan. There are specific concerns on the postoperative adjuvant therapy for premenopausal patients, such as its influences on pregnancy, delivery and lactation, and acute and chronic adverse events related to earlier ovarian dysfunction. International guidelines such as the recommendations by the St. Gallen consensus conference provide clinicians with useful information on the risk assessment for recurrence and treatment selection of postoperative adjuvant therapy. Recommendations on postoperative adjuvant therapy for premenopausal breast cancer patients are presented according to the guidelines and evidence established by clinical trials. On-going clinical trials to resolve unanswered questions on the adjuvant therapy are also reviewed. Finally, future perspectives on the adjuvant therapy are discussed.     

Rehabilitation in women with breast cancer

The diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer in women has undergone profound changes in the past century. Although much research and clinical attention has been focused on saving the lives of women with this condition, less focus has been on rehabilitation aspects. This postacute care should be a distinct phase of treatment. The field of physical medicine and rehabilitation has much to offer women who undergo extremely toxic although life-prolonging therapies for breast cancer. The focus of rehabilitation should include improving strength and cardiovascular conditioning, alleviating pain and improving fatigue. With respect to exercise, this can help women to physically recover from treatment and potentially prevent cancer recurrence. Many exciting opportunities will be available for rehabilitation specialists to improve the care of women with breast cancer and to participate in research in the field of oncology rehabilitation.     

Smoking and prognosis in women with breast cancer

The hypothesis was that smokers might have more aggressive types of breast cancer because of either delayed diagnosis or higher grade and hence have a worse prognosis. A cohort of breast cancer patients completed a lifestyle questionnaire at the time of diagnosis, including whether they were current smokers, ex-smokers or lifelong non-smokers. Ex-smokers were asked when they had stopped. The participants were 166 women with stage I/II invasive breast cancer diagnosed between October 1984 and March 1987. Participants were divided into three groups: current smokers, ex-smokers and non-smokers. Survival curves were produced by using Cox proportional hazards analysis, with outcome variables for overall and breast cancer-specific survival together with distant relapse-free survival. Smoking was the third most important predictor of distant relapse-free, breast cancer-specific and overall survival after stage and age at diagnosis. These results suggest that smokers are not only more likely to die of other diseases, but also have a higher mortality from breast cancer, compared with those with the disease who have never smoked. The best prognosis, however, was found in those who had given up smoking.     

Understanding benign breast disorders and disease

Benign breast disorders can cause a lot of anxiety because of fears of cancer. The author gives an overview of different types of benign breast disorders and discusses appropriate treatment and management.     

Cytomorphology of benign breast disease

Fine needle aspiration biopsy is a widely used technique for the initial diagnosis of mammary lesions. The majority of patients undergoing fine needle aspiration biopsy of a breast lesion will have a benign disease of the breast. This article provides a review of the cytomorphologic features in a variety of benign breast lesions,and discusses the commonly encountered differential diagnoses on aspiration biopsy. Topics discussed include inflammatory and reactive conditions, treatment-induced changes, pregnancy-related changes, benign proliferative lesions, and benign neoplasms of the breast.     

Association between serum lipids and breast cancer risk in premenopausal women: systematic review and meta-analysis

ObjectiveAssociations between serum lipids and their individual components with premenopausal breast cancer risk are unclear. This meta-analysis summarized the literature on serum lipids and premenopausal breast cancer risk to elucidate their relationship.MethodsEligible studies were identified by searching the PubMed, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Wanfang databases until 31 December 2020. Standardized mean difference (SMD) scores with 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs) were used to assess the impact of serum lipids on premenopausal breast cancer risk. The I² statistic was calculated to measure the percentage of heterogeneity, and Egger’s test was performed to measure publication bias.ResultsThirteen studies were included. The SMD scores of triglycerides (TG) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were 12.90 (95%CI: 7.19–18.61) and 31.43 (95%CI: 8.72–54.15), respectively. The SMD scores of total cholesterol (TC) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) were not significantly different between the groups. The included studies were highly heterogeneous. There were no publication biases found in TC, LDL-C, or HDL-C analyses, whereas publication bias was present in the TG analysis.ConclusionsTG and LDL-C were higher in premenopausal breast cancer patients than in women without breast cancer. However, no significant differences were found in TC or HDL-C levels.     

Personality and fatigue in patients with benign or malignant breast disease

Goals of work The aim of the study was to examine the role of five general personality traits in fatigue in a group of patients with breast cancer (BC) and a group with benign breast problems (BBP). Materials and methods Of the 304 participating women, 127 patients had BC and 177 BBP. A fatigue scale was completed before diagnosis and 1, 3, and 6 months after diagnosis (benign patients) or surgical treatment (BC patients). A personality questionnaire (NEO-FFI) and a depression scale (CES-D) were completed before diagnosis. Main results The BC group was less tired before diagnosis, more tired 1 month after diagnosis, and equally tired 3 and 6 months after diagnosis. In the total group, women were more tired over time when they were more neurotic, less agreeable, or more introverted. After controlling for depressive symptoms, demographics, and medical factors, baseline depressive symptoms (β = 0.29, p < 0.05), neuroticism (β = 0.29, p < 0.05), and extraversion (β = −0.25, p < 0.05) predicted fatigue 6 months later. After also including baseline fatigue, only neuroticism (β = 0.22, p < 0.05) and baseline fatigue (β = 0.79, p < 0.001) predicted fatigue. Conclusions Personality is more strongly related to fatigue than demographics, the diagnosis cancer, receiving cancer treatment, and baseline depressive symptoms and fatigue. When replicated, screening and treating women who are at risk to experience high levels of fatigue is recommended.     

Adjustment process in Iranian women with breast cancer

Breast cancer is a devastating event for a woman. Physical changes and psychological problems, treatment to improve the patient's condition, and increased survival rates compared with other cancers manifest the importance of quality of life in these patients. This quality of life is affected by how the patients adjust to their situation. Hence, to understand adjustment to breast cancer, this research aimed to investigate the experience from the patients' perspective and how they interact with others and interpret their experiences in adjusting to the disease. A qualitative research approach based on grounded theory was used. The data were the result of 45 interviews with patients in different phases of their illness trajectory during 1 year, 6 interviews with families, and 10 observation sessions. The main categories that emerged were perceived threat to live, religious aspects, supportive dimensions, will to recover, increase in endurance, barriers to efforts leading to health, living with the disease with tolerance, and inhibitors and facilitators of tolerance. These main categories were understood as passages to reach evolutionary peaceful coexistence. Adjustment to breast cancer has positive evolutional process, and its direction is toward better adjustment. By positive mental reconstruction, the patients feel that they can live with their disease.     

Sexual dysfunction in young women with breast cancer

Objectives

The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of sexual dysfunction in young women with breast cancer in the Netherlands, and to assess the relationship between sexual dysfunction, treatment methods and treatment-related complaints. Also, the interest among women with breast cancer in receiving care for sexual dysfunction was determined.

Methods

Data on sexual functioning were collected through an internet questionnaire. Respondents were included if they had been diagnosed with breast cancer within the past 6?years and were currently 45?years of age or younger. Results were compared with a representative sample of the general Dutch population

Results

Of the women who were still undergoing treatment, 64?% had a sexual dysfunction. In women who had completed treatment, this was 45?%. All assessed dysfunctions were more common among these young women with breast cancer in comparison with women in the Dutch population. Particularly, early menopause and hormone therapy caused long-term occurence of genital arousal disorder. Radical mastectomy caused long-term occurrence of female orgasmic disorder, and early menopause dyspareunia. Half of the women reported that the topic ??changes in sexual functioning?? had been brought up during treatment, mostly on the initiative of the health professional. Six out of 10 women with a sexual dysfunction who felt a need for care did not consult a health professional.

Conclusion

Sexual dysfunctions are highly prevalent among young women with breast cancer. This appears to improve after treatment has been completed, but women are far from recovered. The initiative to discuss sexuality should lie with the health professional. Including sexuality within treatment guidelines will prevent women with breast cancer from being deprived of care.