Predicting Ovarian Activity in Women Affected by Early Breast Cancer: A Meta-Analysis-Based Nomogram

Incomplete ovarian function suppression in premenopausal breast cancer patients treated with gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists

BACKGROUND

Ovarian function suppression (OFS) has emerged as a crucial adjuvant therapy for premenopausal breast cancer patients. Some patients fail to achieve complete OFS with commonly used OFS drugs. The definition of incomplete OFS remains unclear, and large-scale data on its incidence are lacking. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the definition, occurrence, impact on therapeutic efficacy and corresponding treatment measures for incomplete OFS.

METHODS

We searched PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Library databases in recent twenty years with keywords as "ovarian function escape", "incomplete OFS" and "estrogen breakthrough", and carried out a snowballing of references to important literature. Clinical literature of premenopausal breast cancer patients treated with OFS was screened. The patient characteristics, definition and incidence of incomplete OFS, prognosis, interventions and other information were extracted.

RESULTS

A total of 17 studies were included in the analysis, including RCTs, retrospective or prospective cohort studies and case reports. Literature indicates that the incidence of incomplete OFS is around 5-50 % when the estradiol (E2) threshold is set as 2.72 pg/mL, 10 pg/mL, 20 pg/mL, or 30 pg/mL. Young age, high body mass index (BMI), and no prior chemotherapy were the risk factors for incomplete OFS. The treatment of incomplete OFS included dose adjustments, alternative OFS drugs, or the adoption of other OFS measures.

CONCLUSIONS

The incomplete OFS rate decreased with the extension of treatment time. It is reasonable to monitor E2 levels to ensure successful OFS in the patients with high risk factors for incomplete OFS or with concurrent use of aromatase inhibitor (AI). Transient incomplete OFS seems to have no impact on prognosis, but sustained incomplete OFS needs personalized adjustment of treatment strategy to ensure complete OFS.

Palbociclib combined with endocrine treatment in hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer patients with high relapse risk after neoadjuvant chemotherapy: subgroup analyses of premenopausal patients in PENELOPE-B

BACKGROUND

The PENELOPE-B study demonstrated that the addition of 1-year post-neoadjuvant palbociclib to endocrine therapy (ET) in patients with high-risk early breast cancer (BC) did not improve invasive disease-free survival (iDFS) compared to placebo. Here, we report results for premenopausal women.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Patients with hormone receptor-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative BC at high risk of relapse [defined as no pathological complete response after neoadjuvant chemotherapy and a clinical, pathological stage, estrogen receptor, grading (CPS-EG) score ≥3 or 2/ypN+] were randomized to receive 13 cycles of palbociclib or placebo + standard ET. Ovarian function (OF) was evaluated by centrally assessed estradiol, follicle-stimulating hormone and anti-Müllerian hormone serum levels.

RESULTS

Overall, 616 of 1250 randomized patients were premenopausal; of these, 30.0% were <40 years of age, 47.4% had four or more metastatic lymph nodes, and 58.2% had a CPS-EG score ≥3. 66.1% of patients were treated with tamoxifen alone, and 32.9% received ovarian function suppression (OFS) in addition to either tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitor (AI). After a median follow-up of 42.8 months (97.2% completeness) no difference in iDFS between palbociclib and placebo was observed [hazard ratio = 0.95, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.69-1.30, P = 0.737]. The estimated 3-year iDFS rate was marginally higher in the palbociclib arm (80.6% versus 78.3%). Three year iDFS was higher in patients receiving AI than tamoxifen plus OFS or tamoxifen alone (86.0% versus 78.6% versus 78.0%). Patients receiving tamoxifen plus OFS showed a favorable iDFS with palbociclib (83.0% versus 74.1%, hazard ratio = 0.52, 95% CI 0.27-1.02, P = 0.057). Hematologic adverse events were more frequent with palbociclib (76.1% versus 1.9% grade 3-4, P < 0.001). Palbociclib seems not to negatively impact the OF throughout the treatment period.

CONCLUSIONS

In premenopausal women, who received tamoxifen plus OFS as ET, the addition of palbociclib to ET results in a favorable iDFS. The safety profile seems favorable and in contrast to chemotherapy palbociclib does not impact OF throughout the treatment period.

A New Model Including AMH Cut-off Levels to Predict Post-treatment Ovarian Function in Early Breast Cancer: A Prospective Cohort Study

BACKGROUND

Breast cancer (BC) treatment decreases fertility capacity, but unnecessary fertility preservation procedures in women who would not be infertile after treatment would be a waste of time and resources and could cause the unwarranted exposure of cancer cells to exogenous sex hormones. It has been largely shown that post-treatment ovarian reserve is directly associated with pre-treatment anti-mullerian hormone levels (AMH0). A threshold for AMH0, or a model including AMH0 and patient characteristics that could distinguish the patients who will be infertile after treatments, still needs to be defined. Accordingly, this study was performed to specifically target this high-priority concern.

METHODS

Women≤45 years old with newly diagnosed non-metastatic BC were entered in this multicenter prospective cohort study. AMH0 and two-year post-treatment AMH (AMH2) were measured, and hormonal patient features were recorded as well. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, decision tree (DT), and random forest analyses were performed to find a cut-off point for AMH0 and define a model involving related features for the prediction of AMH2.

RESULTS

The data from 84 patients were analyzed. ROC curve analysis revealed that AMH0>3 ng/mL (Area under the curve=0.69, 95% CI: 0.54‒0.84) was the best indicator for predicting AMH2≥0.7 (sensitivity=79%, specificity=60%). The best model detected by DT and random forest for predicting an AMH2>0.7 with a probability of 93% consisted of a combination of AMH0>3.3, menarche age<14, and age<31.

CONCLUSION

This combination model can be used to withhold fertility preservation procedures in BC patients. Performing larger studies is suggested to further test this model.

Anti-Müllerian hormone for screening, diagnosis, evaluation, and prediction: A systematic review and expert opinions

AIM

To present evidence-based recommendations for anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) measurement as an ovarian reserve test.

METHODS

A systematic literature search for the clinical utility of AMH was conducted in PubMed from its inception to August 2022 to identify studies, including meta-analyses, reviews, randomized controlled trials, and clinical trials, followed by an additional systematic search using keywords. Based on this evidence, an expert panel developed clinical questions (CQs).

RESULTS

A total of 1895 studies were identified and 95 articles were included to establish expert opinions subdivided into general population, infertility treatment, primary ovarian insufficiency, polycystic ovary syndrome, surgery, and oncofertility. We developed 13 CQs and 1 future research question with levels of evidence and recommendations.

CONCLUSION

The findings of the current systematic review covered the clinical utility of AMH including its screening, diagnosis, evaluation, and prediction. Although some clinical implications of AMH remain debatable, these expert opinions may help promote a better understanding of AMH and establish its clinical significance.

Anti-Müllerian hormone beyond an ovarian reserve marker: the relationship with the physiology and pathology in the life-long follicle development

Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), an indirect indicator of the number of remaining follicles, is clinically used as a test for ovarian reserve. Typically, a decline suggests a decrease in the number of remaining follicles in relation to ovarian toxicity caused by interventions, which may implicate fertility. In contrast, serum AMH levels are elevated in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome. AMH is produced primarily in the granulosa cells of the preantral and small antral follicles. Thus it varies in association with folliculogenesis and the establishment and shrinking of the follicle cohort. Ovarian activity during the female half-life, from the embryonic period to menopause, is based on folliculogenesis and maintenance of the follicle cohort, which is influenced by developmental processes, life events, and interventions. AMH trends over a woman's lifetime are associated with in vivo follicular cohort transitions that cannot be observed directly.

Diagnostic and predictive accuracy of anti-mullerian hormone for ovarian function after chemotherapy in premenopausal women with early breast cancer

PURPOSE

Accurate diagnosis and prediction of loss of ovarian function after chemotherapy for premenopausal women with early breast cancer (eBC) is important for future fertility and clinical decisions regarding the need for subsequent adjuvant ovarian suppression. We have investigated the value of anti-mullerian hormone (AMH) as serum biomarker for this.

METHODS

AMH was measured in serial blood samples from 206 premenopausal women aged 40-45 years with eBC, before and at intervals after chemotherapy. The diagnostic accuracy of AMH for loss of ovarian function at 30 months after chemotherapy and the predictive value for that of AMH measurement at 6 months were analysed.

RESULTS

Undetectable AMH showed a high diagnostic accuracy for absent ovarian function at 30 months with AUROC 0.89 (96% CI 0.84-0.94, P < 0.0001). PPV of undetectable AMH at 6 months for a menopausal estradiol level at 30 months was 0.77. In multivariate analysis age, pre-treatment AMH and FSH, and taxane treatment were significant predictors, and combined with AMH at 6 months, gave AUROC of 0.90 (95% CI 0.86-0.94), with PPV 0.79 for loss of ovarian function at 30 months. Validation by random forest models with 30% data retained gave similar results.

CONCLUSIONS

AMH is a reliable diagnostic test for lack of ovarian function after chemotherapy in women aged 40-45 with eBC. Early analysis of AMH after chemotherapy allows identification of women who will not recover ovarian function with good accuracy. These analyses will help inform treatment decisions regarding adjuvant endocrine therapy in women who were premenopausal before starting chemotherapy.

Prediction of premature ovarian insufficiency: foolish fallacy or feasible foresight?

Prediction of premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) would be of substantial individual benefit, but being a heterogeneous and fluctuating condition, with an extensive range of complex etiologies and arbitrary diagnostic criteria, might make this seem foolhardy. However, contemporary and complementary genetic strategies assessing consanguineous and large POI pedigrees and cohorts with age at natural menopause have shown strong enrichment in genes regulating DNA damage repair, homologous recombination, and meiosis, processes that are critical to oogenesis and folliculogenesis. Recognition of the molecular architecture of POI and its contribution to baseline genotypic risk may enable these estimates to be refined further by estimation of the residual ovarian reserve. Increasing data derived from spontaneous and gonadotoxic-induced POI cohorts demonstrate the utility of anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) to predict POI. This review presents current understanding of how genetics in combination with AMH may facilitate the prediction of POI.

Anti-Müllerian Hormone in the Diagnosis and Prediction of Premature Ovarian Insufficiency

The menopause and its pathological version, premature ovarian insufficiency (POI), are characterized by the cessation of follicle growth in the ovary, with consequent lack of estrogen production and amenorrhea. The measurement of a specific product of ovarian follicles would therefore be expected to be a valuable biomarker in women with POI, and to be of likely clinical value in the diagnosis and perhaps prediction of POI. Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) is produced by the granulosa cells of growing follicles and is therefore likely to be of value in this context. Current data indicate that measurement of AMH is an accurate indicator of POI in many situations and has diagnostic validity and may facilitate more timely diagnosis. AMH seems to be of limited value in predicting age at natural menopause, even with multiple measurements, and there are scarce data regarding prediction of POI, other than when it is imminent, and in some contexts where there is an immediate iatrogenic threat to ovarian function. AMH therefore appears to have considerable value as a diagnostic test for POI, but apart from highlighting broadly those at increased risk, it has inadequate precision to be able to predict accurately the timing of onset of impending POI.

ESHRE guideline: female fertility preservation

STUDY QUESTION

What is the recommended management for women and transgender men with regards to fertility preservation (FP), based on the best available evidence in the literature?

SUMMARY ANSWER

The ESHRE Guideline on Female Fertility Preservation makes 78 recommendations on organization of care, information provision and support, pre-FP assessment, FP interventions and after treatment care. Ongoing developments in FP are also discussed.

WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY

The field of FP has grown hugely in the last two decades, driven by the increasing recognition of the importance of potential loss of fertility as a significant effect of the treatment of cancer and other serious diseases, and the development of the enabling technologies of oocyte vitrification and ovarian tissue cryopreservation (OTC) for subsequent autografting. This has led to the widespread, though uneven, provision of FP for young women.

STUDY DESIGN SIZE DURATION

The guideline was developed according to the structured methodology for development of ESHRE guidelines. After formulation of key questions by a group of experts, literature searches and assessments were performed. Papers published up to 1 November 2019 and written in English were included in the review.

PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS SETTING METHODS

Based on the collected evidence, recommendations were formulated and discussed until consensus was reached within the guideline group. A stakeholder review was organized after finalization of the draft. The final version was approved by the guideline group and the ESHRE Executive Committee.

MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE

This guideline aims to help providers meet a growing demand for FP options by diverse groups of patients, including those diagnosed with cancer undergoing gonadotoxic treatments, with benign diseases undergoing gonadotoxic treatments or those with a genetic condition predisposing to premature ovarian insufficiency, transgender men (assigned female at birth), and women requesting oocyte cryopreservation for age-related fertility loss.The guideline makes 78 recommendations on information provision and support, pre-FP assessment, FP interventions and after treatment care, including 50 evidence-based recommendations-of which 31 were formulated as strong recommendations and 19 as weak-25 good practice points and 3 research only recommendations. Of the evidence-based recommendations, 1 was supported by high-quality evidence, 3 by moderate-quality evidence, 17 by low-quality evidence and 29 by very low-quality evidence. To support future research in the field of female FP, a list of research recommendations is provided.

LIMITATIONS REASONS FOR CAUTION

Most interventions included are not well studied in FP patients. As some interventions, e.g. oocyte and embryo cryopreservation, are well established for treatment of infertility, technical aspects, feasibility and outcomes can be extrapolated. For other interventions, such as OTC and IVM, more evidence is required, specifically pregnancy outcomes after applying these techniques for FP patients. Such future studies may require the current recommendations to be revised.

WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS

The guideline provides clinicians with clear advice on best practice in female FP, based on the best evidence currently available. In addition, a list of research recommendations is provided to stimulate further studies in FP.

STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTERESTS

The guideline was developed and funded by ESHRE, covering expenses associated with the guideline meetings, with the literature searches and with the dissemination of the guideline. The guideline group members did not receive payment. R.A.A. reports personal fees and non-financial support from Roche Diagnostics, personal fees from Ferring Pharmaceuticals, IBSA and Merck Serono, outside the submitted work; D.B. reports grants from Merck Serono and Goodlife, outside the submitted work; I.D. reports consulting fees from Roche and speaker's fees from Novartis; M.L. reports personal fees from Roche, Novartis, Pfizer, Lilly, Takeda, and Theramex, outside the submitted work. The other authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

DISCLAIMER

This guideline represents the views of ESHRE, which were achieved after careful consideration of the scientific evidence available at the time of preparation. In the absence of scientific evidence on certain aspects, a consensus between the relevant ESHRE stakeholders has been obtained. Adherence to these clinical practice guidelines does not guarantee a successful or specific outcome, nor does it establish a standard of care. Clinical practice guidelines do not replace the need for application of clinical judgment to each individual presentation, nor variations based on locality and facility type. ESHRE makes no warranty, express or implied, regarding the clinical practice guidelines and specifically excludes any warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular use or purpose. (Full disclaimer available at  www.eshre.eu/guidelines.) ^†ESHRE Pages content is not externally peer reviewed. The manuscript has been approved by the Executive Committee of ESHRE.

Fertility preservation in breast cancer with case-based examples for guidance

With more young breast cancer survivors, a trend toward having children later in life, and improvements in assisted reproductive technology (ART), fertility preserving techniques are of growing importance prior to initiation of gonadotoxic treatments. The American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) updated their Fertility Preservation in Patients with Cancer guidelines in April of 2018. ASCO continues to recognize oocyte and embryo cryopreservation as standard practice for women interested in preserving fertility and sperm cryopreservation as standard practice for men. ASCO has clarified their statement on ovarian suppression during chemotherapy as an option when standard methods are unavailable but should not be used as the sole method of fertility preservation (FP) due to conflicting evidence. ASCO also updated their statement on ovarian tissue cryopreservation, which is still labeled experimental but ASCO acknowledges that it can restore global ovarian function and could be of use in specific patients. The NCCN's Version 1.2018 Clinical Practice Guidelines® for treatment of breast cancer include fertility counseling as part of their work-up in all types of breast cancer for premenopausal women.The purpose of this review is to explain the indications and evidence for the different methods of FP for young breast cancer patients in accordance with ASCO and NCCN guidelines. The guidance will then be applied to three theoretical clinical cases in order to highlight actual use in clinical practice.

Five-year study assessing the clinical utility of anti-Müllerian hormone measurements in reproductive-age women with cancer

RESEARCH QUESTION

An important discussion point before chemotherapy is ovarian toxicity, a side-effect that profoundly affects young women with cancer. Their quality of life after successful treatment, including the ability to conceive, is a major concern. We asked whether serum anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) measurements before chemotherapy for two most common malignancies are predictive of long-term changes in ovarian reserve?

DESIGN

A prospective cohort study measured serum AMH in 66 young women with lymphoma and breast cancer, before and at 1 year and 5 years after chemotherapy, compared with 124 healthy volunteers of the same age range (18-43 years). Contemporaneously, patients reported their menses and live births during 5-year follow-up.

RESULTS

After adjustment for age, serum AMH was 1.4 times higher (95% CI 1.1 to 1.9; P < 0.02) in healthy volunteers than in cancer patients before chemotherapy. A strong correlation was observed between baseline and 5-year AMH in the breast cancer group (P < 0.001, regression coefficient = 0.58, 95% CI 0.29 to 0.89). No significant association was found between presence of menses at 5 years and serum AMH at baseline (likelihood ratio test from logistics regression analysis).

CONCLUSIONS

Reproductive-age women with malignancy have lower serum AMH than healthy controls even before starting chemotherapy. Pre-chemotherapy AMH was significantly associated with long-term ovarian function in women with breast cancer. At key time points, AMH measurements could be used as a reproductive health advisory tool for young women with cancer. Our results highlight the unsuitability of return of menstruation as a clinical indicator of ovarian reserve after chemotherapy.

Determinants of ovarian function after response-adapted therapy in patients with advanced Hodgkin's lymphoma (RATHL): a secondary analysis of a randomised phase 3 trial

BACKGROUND

Adverse effects on reproductive function are a key concern in young women treated with chemotherapy for advanced Hodgkin's lymphoma. We aimed to identify risk factors for the extent of ovarian damage in women with Hodgkin's lymphoma treated with different chemotherapy regimens to inform accurate advice on options for fertility preservation.

METHODS

We recruited female participants from the randomised phase 3 RATHL trial, aged 18-45 years, based on availability of participants at recruiting sites in the UK. The RATHL trial key inclusion criteria were histologically confirmed classic Hodgkin's lymphoma, stage IIB-IV or IIA with adverse features (bulky disease or more than two sites of involvement), no previous treatments, and a performance status of 0-3. As part of RATHL, participants were treated with two cycles of doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine (ABVD) or AVD followed by an interim PET-CT scan. Participants who had negative interim scans (PET score of 1 to 3 according to the Lugano classification) were randomly assigned (1:1) by use of minimisation, stratified by interim PET score and study centre, to continue ABVD or AVD for four more cycles. Participants with positive scans (PET score of 4 or 5) were escalated to treatment with bleomycin, etoposide, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, procarbazine, and prednisolone (BEACOPP-14 or escalated BEACOPP) for four cycles. For the protocol-driven prospective cohort substudy, ovarian function was assessed before treatment, during chemotherapy, and then annually for 3 years by use of serum antimüllerian hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone measurements. The RATHL study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00678327.

FINDINGS

Between Dec 13, 2010, and Dec 19, 2012, 67 eligible participants were recruited for this prospective cohort study; 57 had received ABVD or AVD (ABVD-AVD group) and ten BEACOPP-14 or escalated BEACOPP (BEACOPP group). Follow-up was fixed at 3 years. Antimüllerian hormone concentrations decreased during both chemotherapy regimens. At 1 year after chemotherapy, antimüllerian hormone concentrations recovered to a median of 10·5 pmol/L (IQR 4·3-17·3) in the ABVD-AVD group, but little recovery was seen after BEACOPP (median 0·11 pmol/L [0·07-0·20]). Age also affected the extent of ovarian function recovery, with antimüllerian hormone recovery in participants aged 35 years or older in the ABVD-AVD group to 37% (SD 10) of their before treatment concentrations, compared with full recovery to 127% (SD 12) in those younger than 35 years (p<0·0001). Follicle-stimulating hormone recovery to less than 25 IU/L occurred for 95% of women younger than 35 years in the ABVD-AVD group by 2 years and was also dependent on age (hazard ratio 0·49, 95% CI 0·37-0·65; p<0·0001).

INTERPRETATION

Reduced recovery of ovarian function observed in women older than 35 years treated with ABVD or AVD compared with younger women indicates that treatment could reduce their reproductive lifespan and supports discussion of fertility preservation before treatment. Women treated with BEACOPP should be informed of its potential high gonadotoxicity. These findings warrant further investigation in large, prospective studies with fertility and reproductive lifespan as outcomes.

FUNDING

Medical Research Foundation and Cancer Research UK.

Post-chemotherapy serum anti-Müllerian hormone level predicts ovarian function recovery

In the era of precision medicine, the prediction of ovarian function recovery from chemotherapy-induced amenorrhoea using feasible biological markers may be helpful to optimise the treatment strategy for young patients with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. The purpose of this study was to investigate the accuracy of post-chemotherapy biological markers for predicting the recovery of ovarian function in breast cancer patients of the ASTRRA trial, with chemotherapy-induced amenorrhoea. Using data of 82 participants from a single institution in the ASTRRA trial, the post-chemotherapy serum levels of the anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), oestradiol, inhibin B and other clinical factors associated with chemotherapy-induced amenorrhoea were evaluated. Recovery of ovarian function was defined by the resumption of menstruation manifested by vaginal bleeding. Fifty-two patients regained menstruation within 55 months after enrolment. In univariate analysis, <40 years of age (P = 0.009), oestradiol ≥37 pg/mL (P = 0.003) or AMH ≥800 pg/mL (P = 0.026) were associated with recovery of menstruation. On multivariate analysis, oestradiol (hazard ratio: 3.171, 95% CI: 1.306–7.699, P = 0.011) and AMH (hazard ratio: 2.853, 95% CI: 1.011–8.046, P = 0.048) remained as significant independent predictors for resumption of menstruation. The diagnostic accuracy of age, oestradiol and AMH in predicting the resumption of menstruation was 38.3, 23.3 and 86.7%, respectively. In conclusion, post-chemotherapy AMH level might be a relatively accurate predictor of the recovery of ovarian function, presented by resumption of menstruation in breast cancer patients with chemotherapy-induced amenorrhoea

Is Estradiol Monitoring Necessary in Women Receiving Ovarian Suppression for Breast Cancer?

The Oncology Grand Rounds series is designed to place original reports published in the Journal into clinical context. A case presentation is followed by a description of diagnostic and management challenges, a review of the relevant literature, and a summary of the authors’ suggested management approaches. The goal of this series is to help readers better understand how to apply the results of key studies, including those published in Journal of Clinical Oncology, to patients seen in their own clinical practice.

A 36-year-old premenopausal woman had been diagnosed with stage III breast cancer. After an initial biopsy confirmed breast cancer, she underwent mastectomy and axillary node dissection for a left-sided breast cancer, measuring 7 cm. The tumor had lobular histology and was considered grade 2 of 3. Metastatic carcinoma was identified in 10 of 13 axillary nodes. Immunohistochemical studies showed that the tumor was strongly positive for estrogen and progesterone receptor expression and had a Ki-67 score of 15% (> 20% is considered high according to a Swedish quality control study and the St Gallen Expert Consensus). 1 , 2 There was no amplification of the HER2/neu gene. Staging scans were negative for metastatic disease. In the adjuvant setting, she received three cycles of anthracycline-cyclophosphamide combination chemotherapy followed by three cycles of taxane chemotherapy and then locoregional radiotherapy. After completion of chemotherapy, she developed amenorrhea. As adjuvant endocrine therapy, she began monthly goserelin administration to achieve ovarian function suppression (OFS), in combination with the aromatase inhibitor (AI) exemestane. She experienced menopausal symptoms including hot flashes, vaginal dryness, and sexual dysfunction. After two monthly treatments with goserelin and exemestane, a sensitive assay for serum estradiol was checked and returned at 16 pg/mL (61 pmol/L); postmenopausal range for sensitive assay is less than 15 pg/mL (< 50 pmol/L). The patient has now been referred to our unit to discuss further management.