Importance: The association of tamoxifen use with the risk of uterine diseases, such as endometrial cancer, in premenopausal women with breast cancer remains controversial. However, many studies have reported an increased risk of uterine disease among postmenopausal tamoxifen users.
Objective: To investigate the association of tamoxifen use with the risk of endometrial cancer and other uterine diseases in premenopausal women with breast cancer.
Design, setting, and participants: A nationwide, population-based, retrospective longitudinal cohort study with an 18-year study period was conducted using data obtained from the Korean National Health Insurance Service. Participants included premenopausal women aged 20 to 50 years with breast cancer diagnoses between January 2003 and December 2018. Data were analyzed from April to December 2021.
Exposures: Tamoxifen treatment.
Main outcomes and measures: The incidence of uterine diseases, including endometrial cancer, hyperplasia, polyps, and other uterine cancers, was identified in the study cohort using insurance claim codes. The incidence of uterine diseases per 1000 person-years was compared between women receiving tamoxifen and those not treated with adjuvant hormone therapy. Multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression analysis was performed to determine the risk of each uterine disease.
Results: Among 78 320 female participants with a mean (SD) age of 42.1 (6.1) years, 34 637 (44.2%) were categorized into the tamoxifen group and 43 683 (55.8%) were categorized into the control group. Among tamoxifen users, during the mean (SD) follow-up duration of 6.13 (4.15) years, the incidence of newly diagnosed endometrial polyps was 20.13 cases per 1000 person-years, that of endometrial hyperplasia was 13.49 cases per 1000 person-years, that of endometrial cancer was 2.01 cases per 1000 person-years, and that of other uterine cancers was 0.45 cases per 1000 person-years. The risk of endometrial cancer was higher in the tamoxifen group than in the control group (hazard ratio, 3.77; 95% CI, 3.04-4.66) after adjusting for age, body mass index, history of diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, polycystic ovary syndrome, gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist treatment, and trastuzumab treatment.
Conclusions and relevance: In this longitudinal cohort study, premenopausal Korean women with breast cancer who received tamoxifen as adjuvant hormone therapy had a significantly increased risk of endometrial hyperplasia, polyps, carcinoma, and other uterine cancers compared with those who were not treated with adjuvant hormone therapy. These findings suggest that clinicians should consider the risk of uterine disease among tamoxifen users, including premenopausal women.