Patients that have been treated with chemotherapy following surgery were more likely to have less ovarian reserve compared to women that never went through such treatments, says a study made by researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The investigators presented their findings at the American Society of Clinical Oncology´s annual meeting, that will finish tomorrow, held in Chicago.

They studied markers of ovarian reserve in 20 premenopausal breast cancer patients that were treated successfully with chemotherapy, with no indication of recurrence. They were controlled against a group of twenty years-old that had no history of the disease.

The study showed involved using five tests conducted a few days after the menstrual cycle to control the ovaries´ physical condition, hormone levels and a compound involved in the menstrual cycle. Of those tests, four showed that breast cancer survivors had diminished ovarian reserve, compared to those that never had chemotherapy treatments. The other test did not show a great difference between both groups.

Ann Partridge, MD of Dana-Farber, the leader of the research, said that the findings can have further implications for women that want to have children after receiving chemotherapy, and that “Studies that track breast cancer survivors following treatment are needed to determine the predictive value of these tests for pregnancy.”

Via | Dana-Farber