Sequential versus simultaneous use of chemotherapy and gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa) among estrogen receptor (ER)-positive premenopausal breast cancer patients: effects on ovarian function, disease-free survival, and overall survival

Objective To investigate ovarian function and therapeutic efficacy among estrogen receptor (ER)-positive, premenopausal breast cancer patients treated with gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa) and chemotherapy simultaneously or sequentially. Method This study was a phase 3, open-label, parallel, randomized controlled trial (NCT01712893). Two hundred sixteen premenopausal patients (under 45 years) diagnosed with invasive ER-positive breast cancer were enrolled from July 2009 to May 2013 and randomized at a 1:1 ratio to receive (neo)adjuvant chemotherapy combined with sequential or simultaneous GnRHa treatment. All patients were advised to receive GnRHa for at least 2 years. The primary outcome was the incidence of early menopause, defined as amenorrhea lasting longer than 12 months after the last chemotherapy or GnRHa dose, with postmenopausal or unknown follicle-stimulating hormone and estradiol levels. The menstrual resumption period and survivals were the secondary endpoints. Result The median follow-up time was 56.9 months (IQR 49.5–72.4 months). One hundred and eight patients were enrolled in each group. Among them, 92 and 78 patients had complete primary endpoint data in the sequential and simultaneous groups, respectively. The rates of early menopause were 22.8% (21/92) in the sequential group and 23.1% (18/78) in the simultaneous group [simultaneous vs. sequential: OR 1.01 (95% CI 0.50–2.08); p = 0.969; age-adjusted OR 1.13; (95% CI 0.54–2.37); p = 0.737]. The median menstruation resumption period was 12.0 (95% CI 9.3–14.7) months and 10.3 (95% CI 8.2–12.4) months for the sequential and simultaneous groups, respectively [HR 0.83 (95% CI 0.59–1.16); p = 0.274; age-adjusted HR 0.90 (95%CI 0.64–1.27); p = 0.567]. No significant differences were evident for disease-free survival ( p = 0.290) or overall survival ( p = 0.514) between the two groups. Conclusion For ER-positive premenopausal patients, the sequential use of GnRHa and chemotherapy showed ovarian preservation and survival outcomes that were no worse than simultaneous use. The application of GnRHa can probably be delayed until menstruation resumption after chemotherapy.