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A new study suggests chemotherapy may cause acute amenorrhea leading to early menopause in women with lung cancer. According to Mayo Clinic, the rate of lung cancer has risen to 94% percent in women and now has surpassed breast cancer as the leading cause of cancer death in women. Although lung cancer is more common in older adults, women are diagnosed at a younger age compared with men.
Extensive research of women receiving treatment for breast cancer has found that between 40% and 80% have premature menopause. Unique to the premenopausal survivor population is the concern that systemic chemotherapy may cause acute amenorrhea and menopause, leading not only to hot flashes, vaginal dryness, and bone loss but also the possibility of loss of fertility.
Premenopausal women with lung cancer may want children and should consult their healthcare providers about options for embryo and oocyte cryopreservation. The study included 182 premenopausal women (average age at diagnosis, 43 years). The Mayo Clinic Epidemiology and Genetics of Lung Cancer Research Program surveyed women between 1999 and 2016 at diagnosis and annually thereafter about their menstrual status. Types of lung cancer treatments were recorded, and frequencies of self-reported menopause at each survey were calculated.
For the 85 women who received chemotherapy, 64% self-reported that they were menopausal within a year of diagnosis. Only 15% of the 94 patients who did not receive systemic therapy within a year of diagnosis experienced self-reported menopause. Three patients received targeted therapy alone, two of whom remained premenopausal at the final survey completed a median of 3 years after diagnosis. The results suggest that chemotherapy for patients with lung cancer increases the risk of early menopause.