Gonadal Function Recovery and Fertility in Women Treated with Chemo- and/or Radiotherapy for Hodgkin's and Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

Abstract

Background: Fertility and gonadal function represent one of the most important aspects for long-term lymphoma survivors.

Aims: The aim of our study was to determine possible risk factors, such as age at treatment, chemotherapeutic regimen, protection with oral contraceptives (OCs), and gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogues in female patients treated for Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) or non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) at a reproductive age.

Methods: Patients between the age of 16 and 50 years at the time of HL or NHL diagnosis were selected. Eligible patients were requested to respond to a questionnaire by phone interview about fertility, menstrual status, sexual aspects, and treatment with OCs or GnRH analogues during chemotherapy.

Results: The resumption of menstrual activity was associated with the use of the OCs and GnRH analogues during chemotherapy (p = 0.008 and 0.034, respectively). At univariate analysis, the use of OCs during chemotherapy was associated with a lower risk of amenorrhea (prevalence ratio [PR] = 0.37; 95% CI 0.17-0.82). A higher age at the time of treatment correlated positively with therapy-induced amenorrhea, with a difference of 12.8 years between the mean age at diagnosis of the women with therapy-induced amenorrhea and those who resumed their menses. Amenorrhea was significantly higher in women receiving R-CHOP than in women treated with ABVD (PR = 6.00; 95% CI 2.32-15.54). Moreover, NHL had an infertility PR of 1.51 (95% CI 0.86-2.45) at multivariate analysis compared to HL.

Conclusions: This study suggests a possible role of pharmacological prophylaxis with OCs and GnRH analogues.

Keywords: Chemotherapy; Fertility; GnRH analogues; Lymphoma.