The timing of breast cancer surgery in relation to a woman's menstrual cycle has no influence on her survival, say researchers from France. Earlier research on the subject remains controversial, with recent studies giving contradictory results, according to Dr. Pascal Pujol from Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Montpellier in Montpellier, France and associates. To resolve the controversy, the authors looked at menstrual history and blood hormone levels in 360 women with breast cancer. They tried to determine whether there was any link between estrogen, progesterone or gonadotropin levels and the outcome after breast cancer surgery.
Gonadotropins are hormones that stimulate ovarian function.
Moreover, the survival after breast cancer surgery was not related to the phase of the woman's menstrual cycle when she had the surgery, the report indicates. They speculate that this finding may explain why LH blockers may have beneficial effects in some women with breast cancer. If the findings are confirmed, Pujol told Reuters Health in an e-mail interview, it may make sense to evaluate drugs that block LH for treating women with breast cancer who have high gonadotropin levels. Pujol adds that researchers should focus on identifying which women will benefit from this and other hormone therapies, based on their hormone levels and tumor biology. Copyright 2001 Reuters Limited.