Menstrual standards for endocrine therapy of breast cancer

Breast cancer patients need to correctly judge their menstrual status before endocrine treatment, because there are differences in treatment before and after menopause. Menopause does not simply refer to cessation of menstruation or amenorrhea, it has strict regulations.

The following situations are defined as postmenopausal, otherwise they are defined as premenopausal.

1. Bilateral oophorectomy

2. Aged over 60

3. Women under 60 years old must meet the following criteria: amenorrhea for more than 12 months, no chemotherapy, tamoxifen, toremifene or ovarian suppression, and follicle-stimulating hormone and estrogen levels in the postmenopausal range.

4. If patients under 60 years old receive tamoxifen or toremifene, their follicle-stimulating hormone and serum estrogen levels are required to be within the postmenopausal range.

Note (1) Women who have received Zoladex cannot be considered to have reached menopause.

Note (2) For women who were menstruating before adjuvant chemotherapy, chemotherapy-induced amenorrhea is not a reliable indicator of menopause because the ovaries may still be functional or may recover after chemotherapy despite anovulation or amenorrhea.