Early menopause and infertility in females after treatment for childhood cancer diagnosed in 1964-1988 in Ontario, Canada

Am J Epidemiol. 1999 Aug 1;150(3):245-54. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a009995.

Abstract

This study was conducted to determine the risk of menopause and infertility in female childhood cancer survivors who received abdominal-pelvic radiation and/or chemotherapy with alkylating agents in comparison with those who were treated by nonsterilizing surgery only. Females who were diagnosed in 1964-1988 before age 20 years with a histologically confirmed malignancy and who had survived for at least 5 years, had attained age 18, and were alive at time of study were identified through the Ontario Cancer Registry. Reproductive outcomes were ascertained by a telephone-administered questionnaire, and treatment data were abstracted from medical records for 830 subjects aged 18-49 years; 719 survivors who were nonmenopausal at the end of treatment were included in the analyses. Survivors who received both alkylating agents and abdominal-pelvic radiation were more likely to be postmenopausal than were those who underwent surgery (risk ratio = 2.58; 95% confidence interval: 1.14, 5.80). Women treated with abdominal-pelvic radiation alone had a fertility deficit of 23% compared with those in the surgery group; the deficit was restricted to women diagnosed postpuberty. Risks of menopause and infertility increased with increasing dose of abdominal-pelvic radiation and amount of alkylating agent.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Abdomen
  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Antineoplastic Agents, Alkylating / adverse effects*
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Cohort Studies
  • Combined Modality Therapy / adverse effects
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Infertility, Female / etiology*
  • Menopause, Premature*
  • Middle Aged
  • Neoplasms / drug therapy*
  • Neoplasms / radiotherapy*
  • Neoplasms / surgery
  • Ontario
  • Pelvis
  • Proportional Hazards Models
  • Radiotherapy / adverse effects*
  • Registries
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Surveys and Questionnaires

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents, Alkylating