Effects of hormone therapy on recurrence in endometrial cancer survivors: a nationwide study using the Korean Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service database

Estrogen replacement therapy and non-hormonal medication use among patients with uterine cancer

OBJECTIVE

As the prognosis for endometrial cancer is excellent, management of the effects of estrogen deprivation has an important influence on quality of life. We examined the trends in the use of estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) and non-hormonal medications among patients with uterine cancer following surgery.

METHODS

The MarketScan Database was used to identify patients 18-49 years who underwent hysterectomy plus oophorectomy and those aged 50-75 years who underwent hysterectomy between 2008 and 2020. ERT and non-hormonal treatments of menopause were identified preoperatively and postoperatively. After propensity score balancing, difference-in-differences (DID) analyses were performed to compare the pre-and-postoperative changes in ERT and non-hormonal medication use between groups. The trends in postoperative use of ERT were assessed and tested using Cochran-Armitage trend tests.

RESULTS

A total of 19,700 patients with uterine cancer and 185,150 controls were identified. Overall, postoperative ERT use decreased for both age groups and for patients with and without uterine cancer. The DID in ERT use between those with uterine cancer and those with benign pathology after hysterectomy was -37.1% (95% CI, -40.5 to -33.6%) for patients 18-49 years of age and - 10.4% (95% CI, -10.9 to -9.9%) for those 50-75 years. The DID for non-hormonal medication use between those with uterine cancer and those with benign pathology after hysterectomy was 11.2% (95% CI, 7.8 to 14.7%) for younger patients and 3.4% (95% CI, 2.9 to 4.0%) for those 50-75 years. The postoperative new ERT use has been declining over time in patients with uterine cancer in those 18-49 years of age (P = .02) and those 50-75 years of age (P < .001).

CONCLUSIONS

The use of ERT is uncommon and has declined over time in patients with uterine cancer. Conversely, non-hormonal medications are more commonly used among patients with uterine cancer.

A case of solitary lymph node recurrence 9 years after initial treatment for advanced premenopausal endometrioid endometrial cancer; clinical usefulness of hormonal replacement therapy

There is no consensus on the use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) after treatment of advanced corpus cancer. We report a case of advanced corpus cancer at a young age, in which HRT was initiated 7 years after surgery, and regional lymph node recurrence was later detected. The patient was 35 years old at the time of initial treatment in X year, when she was diagnosed with stageIIIC2 corpus cancer and underwent a hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy and a retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy. HRT was started at X + 7 years, and at X + 9 years, a 25 × 12-mm-sized mass was found in the hilum of the right kidney. A laparoscopic resection revealed regional lymph node recurrence of the corpus cancer. A retrospective study further revealed that a tumor measuring 12 × 3 mm was found at X + 3 years and grew to 18 × 7 mm in X + 6 years, just before the start of the HRT. We hypothesize that HRT did not induce tumor recurrence; instead, it allowed for long-term follow-up and early diagnosis.

Real-world practice of estrogen therapy after surgery for endometrial cancer: a descriptive study using a Japanese claims database

BACKGROUND

Estrogen therapy (ET) plays a key role in maintaining the post-surgical quality of life of patients with endometrial cancer. This study investigated the reality of the use of ET after endometrial cancer surgery in Japan.

METHODS

Using a healthcare database in Japan, patients who underwent surgery for endometrial cancer between the ages of 40 and 59 years from January 2006 to March 2021 were included. The cumulative prescriptions of ET after endometrial cancer surgeries in patients who had received chemotherapy or radiation therapy (adj-group) and those who did not (non-adj-group) was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method.

RESULTS

Of the 1475 patients, 115 received ET, among whom transdermal estradiol was initiated in 100 (87.0%) individuals. The cumulative proportions of ET prescription 24 months after surgery [95% confidence intervals (CIs)] were 0.088 [0.072, 0.11] in the non-adj-group and 0.058 [0.040, 0.084] in the adj-group. The cumulative proportion [95% CI] of women who received ET at 24 months after surgeries decreased with increasing age, ranging from 0.29 [0.21, 0.38] in the 40‒44 years old to 0.009 [0.002, 0.034] in the 55‒59 years old women in the non-adj-group and from 0.17 [0.094, 0.31] in the 40‒44 years old to 0 in the 55‒59 years old women in the adj-group.

CONCLUSION

The present study shows that ET after endometrial cancer surgery may be underused, even in women who underwent surgery between 40 and 44 years of age and without adjuvant therapy.

Eligibility criteria for Menopausal Hormone Therapy (MHT): a position statement from a consortium of scientific societies for the use of MHT in women with medical conditions. MHT Eligibility Criteria Group

This project aims to develop eligibility criteria for menopausal hormone therapy (MHT). The tool should be similar to those already established for contraception A consortium of scientific societies coordinated by the Spanish Menopause Society met to formulate recommendations for the use of MHT by women with medical conditions based on the best available evidence. The project was developed in two phases. As a first step, we conducted 14 systematic reviews and 32 metanalyses on the safety of MHT (in nine areas: age, time of menopause onset, treatment duration, women with thrombotic risk, women with a personal history of cardiovascular disease, women with metabolic syndrome, women with gastrointestinal diseases, survivors of breast cancer or of other cancers, and women who smoke) and on the most relevant pharmacological interactions with MHT. These systematic reviews and metanalyses helped inform a structured process in which a panel of experts defined the eligibility criteria according to a specific framework, which facilitated the discussion and development process. To unify the proposal, the following eligibility criteria have been defined in accordance with the WHO international nomenclature for the different alternatives for MHT (category 1, no restriction on the use of MHT; category 2, the benefits outweigh the risks; category 3, the risks generally outweigh the benefits; category 4, MHT should not be used). Quality was classified as high, moderate, low or very low, based on several factors (including risk of bias, inaccuracy, inconsistency, lack of directionality and publication bias). When no direct evidence was identified, but plausibility, clinical experience or indirect evidence were available, "Expert opinion" was categorized. For the first time, a set of eligibility criteria, based on clinical evidence and developed according to the most rigorous methodological tools, has been defined. This will provide health professionals with a powerful decision-making tool that can be used to manage menopausal symptoms.

Hormone Replacement Therapy in Endometrial Cancer Survivors: A Meta-Analysis

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of hormone therapy (HT) on the oncological outcomes of endometrial cancer (EC) survivors. A systematic literature review was conducted in July 2021 to identify studies detailing the effect size for the relationship between HT use in EC and oncological outcomes (survival and disease recurrence). This included studies that evaluated the different recurrence rates among women treated for EC who subsequently underwent HT and those who did not. The collected studies were evaluated for quality, heterogeneity, and publication bias, and a pooled odds ratio (OR) or hazard ratio (HR) was calculated with a confidence interval of 95% (95% CI). In total, 5291 studies were collated, and after the review process, one randomized trial and seven observational studies were included, comprising 1801 EC survivors treated with HT and 6015 controls. The time-dependent analysis could be conducted for four studies, and considering the disease-free survival, the pooled HR of 0.90 (95% CI 0.28 to 2.87) showed no significant differences. However, among Black American women treated with continuous estrogen HT, the HR was 7.58 (95% CI 1.96 to 29.31), showing a significantly increased risk of recurrence for women in this ethnic group. Considering the pooled OR of all included studies 0.63 (95% CI 0.48 to 0.83), a significantly reduced risk of recurrence was found among EC survivors treated with HT. Considering the type of HT, the most risk-reducing was combined estrogen and progestin therapy and the cyclic regimen. Although supporting evidence is based mainly upon observational studies, evidence of no increased risk or even decreased risk was generally found, apart from in Black American women where a significantly increased recurrence risk was evident. The data are rather reassuring for the short-term administration of HT to symptomatic EC survivors. Future studies with a longer follow-up are necessary to better clarify the long-term effects of HT.

Does Hormone Replacement Therapy Impact the Prognosis in Endometrial Cancer Survivors? A Systematic Review

PURPOSE

The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) on the prognosis in endometrial cancer (EC) survivors.

METHODS

The research was conducted using the following electronic databases: MEDLINE (PubMed), Web of Science, ClinicalTrial.gov, and Cochrane Library. We performed a review of studies published from January 1986 to January 2019. We selected studies that included EC patients submitted to surgery with curative intent and postoperative use of HRT.

RESULT

Seven of 1,332 abstracts considered were eligible: 4 retrospective series, 1 prospective study, 1 randomized controlled trial, and 1 population study. Globally in the observed studies there was not a significant increase in the recurrence rate, measured by the relative risk, in the EC survivors using HRT compared with the controls in tumour stages I and II. The bias was that HRT was prescribed only to low-risk patients, who were young and had a low stage of disease.

CONCLUSION

This systematic review shows that HRT use had no negative effect on prognosis in EC survivors in tumour stages I and II.