ENDOMETRIAL THICKNESS AND OVARIAN CYSTS AS MEASURED BY ULTRASOUND IN ASYMPTOMATIC POSTMENOPAUSAL BREAST-CANCER PATIENTS ON VARIOUS ADJUVANTTREATMENTS INCLUDING TAMOXIFEN

Endometrial thickness as measured by ultrasound during tamoxifen treat ment has previously been reported. However, there has not been any stu dy investigating endometrial thickness before treatment and following it at regular intervals during treatment. 90 patients with breast canc er without any gynecological symptoms were followed (aged more than 50 years at the operation of their breast cancer). They were investigate d by vaginal ultrasound and a common clinical investigation at our out -care patient department. Adjuvant breast cancer therapy consisted of tamoxifen, tamoxifen after radiotherapy and/or in a few cases cytostat ics, cytostatics with or without the addition of radiotherapy radiothe rapy or no further therapy. Patients with receptor positive tumours we re given tamoxifen. Their endometrium was already thicker before the s tart of adjuvant treatment as measured by ultrasound. After 3 months a nd 12 months we found the endometrium to be significantly thicker in t hose treated with tamoxifen compared to other treatment groups. After 12 months of tamoxifen treatment 22/32 women had an endometrial thickn ess of 5 mm or more. The frequency of ovarian cysts also seemed to be affected by therapy. In patients treated with tamoxifen alone or in co mbination, the frequency of cysts was 5/35 before treatment, 6/37 afte r 3 months, and 0/32 after one year The corresponding frequencies for those not treated with tamoxifen were 2/20, 3/11 and 3/23 respectively .