OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence of urogenital symptoms and vaginal atrophy in postmenopausal breast cancer patients on adjuvant endocrine therapy. STUDY DESIGN: A population-based, cross-sectional study on postmenopausal breast cancer patients on adjuvant endocrine treatment and age-matched control subjects. Vaginal atrophy was assessed by gynecologic examination and atrophy-related symptoms by validated questionnaires. RESULTS: In all, 57.6% of aromatase inhibitor-treated and 32.4% of tamoxifen-treated breast cancer patients rated at least 1 vaginal atrophy symptom as moderate/severe, which was significantly more common than in control subjects (P < .01). Aromatase inhibitor-treated patients more often had moderate or severe vaginal atrophy (P < .05), a more atrophic cytohormonal evaluation, and significantly higher vaginal pH (P < .05) than all control subjects, irrespective of hormonal use. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that the frequency of vaginal atrophy symptoms, particularly in aromatase inhibitor-treated women, might have been underestimated in previous clinical trials.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence of urogenital symptoms and vaginal atrophy in postmenopausal breast cancerpatients on adjuvant endocrine therapy. STUDY DESIGN: A population-based, cross-sectional study on postmenopausal breast cancerpatients on adjuvant endocrine treatment and age-matched control subjects. Vaginal atrophy was assessed by gynecologic examination and atrophy-related symptoms by validated questionnaires. RESULTS: In all, 57.6% of aromatase inhibitor-treated and 32.4% of tamoxifen-treated breast cancerpatients rated at least 1 vaginal atrophy symptom as moderate/severe, which was significantly more common than in control subjects (P < .01). Aromatase inhibitor-treated patients more often had moderate or severe vaginal atrophy (P < .05), a more atrophic cytohormonal evaluation, and significantly higher vaginal pH (P < .05) than all control subjects, irrespective of hormonal use. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that the frequency of vaginal atrophy symptoms, particularly in aromatase inhibitor-treated women, might have been underestimated in previous clinical trials.
Authors: Suzanne N Landi; Kemi M Doll; Jeannette T Bensen; Laura Hendrix; Carey K Anders; Jennifer M Wu; Hazel B Nichols Journal: Cancer Causes Control Date: 2016-09-28 Impact factor: 2.506
Authors: Jennifer Barsky Reese; Laura S Porter; Kristen E Casale; Elissa T Bantug; Sharon L Bober; Sharon C Schwartz; Katherine Clegg Smith Journal: Health Psychol Date: 2016-08-15 Impact factor: 4.267