Abstract
Increasing breast cancer incidence and decreasing mortality have highlighted the importance of survivorship issues related to breast cancer. A consideration of the issues related to menopause is therefore of great importance to both women and clinicians. Menopause/menopausal symptoms, with significant negative effects on quality of life and potential long-term health impacts, may in women with breast cancer be associated with: (1) natural menopause occurring concurrently with a breast cancer diagnosis; (2) recurrence of menopausal symptoms following cessation of hormone replacement therapy; (3) treatment-induced menopause (chemotherapy, ovarian ablation/suppression) and adjuvant endocrine therapy. A variety of non-hormonal pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies have been investigated as therapeutic options for menopausal symptoms with mixed results, and ongoing research is required. This review presents a summary of the causes, common problematic symptoms of menopause (vasomotor, genitourinary and sexual dysfunction), and longer-term consequences (cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis) related to menopause. It proposes an evidenced-based multidisciplinary approach to the management of menopause/menopausal symptoms in women with breast cancer.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The author thanks Associate Professor Beverley Vollenhoven, Head of Gynaecology, Monash Health for her critical review of the manuscript.
Conflict of interest Dr Amanda Vincent is a member of the Editorial Board of Climacteric.
Source of funding Nil.