What drugs should be used for young breast cancer patients who want to preserve their fertility?

  Chemotherapy is an important adjuvant treatment for breast cancer, which can reduce the risk of recurrence and metastasis after early breast cancer surgery, as well as relieve recurrent metastatic breast cancer and prolong survival. However, chemotherapy has certain toxic side effects, which include premature ovarian failure. And for young breast cancer patients, preservation of fertility is a common and important issue.  A phase III clinical study supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) found that adding goserelin, a hormone suppressor, to chemotherapy regimens was an effective way to preserve fertility in patients with hormone receptor-negative early-stage breast cancer. Goserelin, the most widely used luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) analogue for premenopausal breast cancer, inhibits estrogen production by the ovaries and brings estrogen to postmenopausal levels in premenopausal women. It is speculated that perhaps it is because LHRH analogs temporarily shut down ovarian function that they are able to protect follicles from chemotherapy damage.  A total of 214 premenopausal hormone receptor-negative breast cancer patients under 50 years of age were randomized into two groups, one receiving a standard chemotherapy regimen containing cyclophosphamide (control group) and one receiving a standard chemotherapy regimen containing cyclophosphamide in combination with goserelin (goserelin group). The results showed that 22% of patients in the control group developed premature ovarian failure (POF), 8% of patients in the goserelin group developed premature ovarian failure (POF), and women in the goserelin group had a 64% decrease in the rate of premature ovarian failure (POF) compared to the control group. The results also showed that 13 patients in the control group became pregnant compared to 22 in the goserelin group, and that the goserelin group had better disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) than the control group.  This shows that goserelin significantly reduces the risk of premature ovarian failure in premenopausal hormone receptor-negative breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy, resulting in better fertility preservation. Whereas preserving fertility is an important component of quality survival care, this study provides strong evidence for a safe and effective treatment strategy for young women with breast cancer.