Female Fertility Following Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer: A Descriptive Study of 265 Cases Treated in Yaounde

Abstract

Context: In Cameroon, breast cancer (BC) is usually diagnosed late in the disease course. About a third of women affected are aged less than 40 years. Chemotherapy (CT) could alter ovarian function and thereby compromise future fertility in these women. We therefore described the fertility of women following CT for BC in women treated at the Yaounde General Hospital (YGH). Methods: It was a retrospective, descriptive, cross-sectional study conducted over 8 months, from January to August 2017. We used the files of patients managed for BC from January 2011 to December 2015 in the medical oncology unit of the YGH. Results: We included 265 patients for the study following at least one year of CT. The mean age at the onset of CT was 35.9 ± 6.9 years. Most of the patients had fewer than 2 deliveries (68.3%). Intraductal carcinoma was the most frequent histological lesion (90.6%) and most often diagnosed in advanced stages (73.5%). As per CT, the FAC protocol was the most used (44.5%). The menstrual cycles of the patients were more regular prior to the onset of chemotherapy (89.4% vs. 58.9%), while the mean period of resumption of menstrual activity following cessation of chemotherapy was 6.3 ± 2.0 months. Chemotherapy-related amenorrhoea was observed in 29.1% of patients after 12 months of treatment.