Breast cancer research and treatment
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Breast Cancer Res. Treat. · Apr 2002
Comparative StudyHysteroscopic assessment of menopausal breast-cancer patients taking tamoxifen; there is a bias from the mode of endometrial sampling in estimating endometrial morbidity?
The aim of this study is to evaluate the accuracy of hysteroscopy in detecting tamoxifen-associated endometrial morbidity. Ninety-eight menopausal breast cancer patients taking tamoxifen underwent hysteroscopy because of an endometrial thickness above 4mm measured by Transvaginal Ultrasonography. Thirty-one women recorded uterine bleeding while 67 were asymptomatic. ⋯ From literature data, the detection-rate of endometrial pathology in tamoxifen users varies from the lowest to the highest prevalences whether blind or hysteroscopically-targeted modalities of tissue sampling were used, respectively. Hysteroscopy with targeted sampling appears to be the most effective method to assess the endometrial lining. In our experience it is safe, well tolerated and it should be considered the reference test to assess a thickened endometrium in women under tamoxifen.