title: The effects of letrozole on ovarian stimulation for fertility preservation in cancer-affected women.
abstract: Survival rates for fertile women with cancer have increased significantly, lending importance to considering the possibility of motherhood after cancer. This study was a retrospective analysis of a prospective database comparing two groups of patients who underwent fertility preservation after being diagnosed with either breast cancer or a non-hormone-dependent cancer between 2009 and 2011. Nineteen oncology patients were included in the study. The objective was to assess the efficacy of ovarian stimulation with aromatase inhibitors versus a standard antagonist protocol. This study sought to quantify oestradiol concentrations in patients receiving letrozole and to determine the length of time between diagnosis of malignancy and onset of fertility preservation. Number of mature oocytes retrieved in the non-hormone-dependent cancer group was comparable to that in the breast cancer group (15.4±8.19 versus 16.3±7.31). Oestradiol concentrations were higher for patients with non-hormone-dependent cancer (1666.4±739.42 pg/ml versus 829±551.11 pg/ml, P=0.006). There were no differences between the groups in the length of time between diagnosis and fertility preservation (17.4±4.93 versus 16.4±1.74 days). Oestradiol concentrations of breast cancer patients on the letrozole protocol remained much lower than those of patients on the antagonist protocol.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Hospital del Mar, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. macheca@parcdesalutmar.cat
authors.forename: Miguel A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Checa Vizcaíno
authors.forename: Anna Robles
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Corchado
authors.forename: Margalida E Sastre I
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Cuadri
authors.forename: Mireia Gonzalez
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Comadran
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brassesco
authors.forename: Ramón
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Carreras
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*; D015925:Cryopreservation; D004958:Estradiol / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D059247:Fertility Preservation / Q000379:methods*; D007987:Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D000077289:Letrozole; D008597:Menstrual Cycle / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D009570:Nitriles / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D054315:Oocyte Retrieval; D010053:Ovary / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology*; D010062:Ovulation Induction / Q000379:methods*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014230:Triazoles / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D009570:Nitriles; D014230:Triazoles; D007987:Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone; D004958:Estradiol; D000077289:Letrozole; C062876:cetrorelix