The Change of Endometrial Thickness in Tamoxifen-treated Postmenopausal Breast Cancer Patients / 대한산부인과학회잡지

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of tamoxifen on endometrial thickness in postmenopausal women taking adjuvant tamoxifen therapy for breast cancer after chemotherapy. METHODS: Fifty-eight tamoxifen-treated postmenopausal breast cancer patients underwent periodically transvaginal ultrasonography twice a year for 2 years and then once a year. We analyzed the correlation between the sonographic endometrial thickness and the duration of tamoxifen therapy. RESULTS: The mean endometrial thickness of breast cancer patients before tamoxifen therapy was 4.68 mm. But the mean endometrial thickness increased to 5.03 mm at 6 months, 5.21 mm at 12 months, after which it slightly declined to 5.13 mm at 18 months. And then it increased to 5.15 mm at 24 months, and 5.24 mm at 36 months. There was a significant increase in endometrial thickness after tamoxifen therapy compared with before tamoxifen therapy (por=5 mm. No cases of endometrial cancer were detected. CONCLUSION: Significant increase in endometrial thickness with the duration of tamoxifen therapy in postmenopausal tamoxifen-treated patients may be associated with a high risk of endometrial pathologies in these patients.