Evaluation of Endometrial Layer Changes in Perimenopausal Women with Amenorrhea on Tamoxifen

Kawakeb N Abdulla, Saba J Alheshimi, Hanan Dh. Skheel Aljebory, Hayder A. Fawzi, Anas K. Awn

Abstract: AIM To evaluate the usefulness of vaginal ultrasonography in screening for endometrial disease in perimenopausal women with amenorrhea on tamoxifen. Patients & METHOD 50 breast cancer patients with amenorrhea on tamoxifen were selected to study their endometrial thickness by using vaginal ultrasound, an endometrial thickness of > 5mm used as an abnormal result, and those sent for histopathological examination to see if their endometrium was normal or abnormal and what was the type of the abnormality. Patients with abnormal uterine bleeding excluded from the study. RESULTS From the 50 studied women, ten were having an endometrial thickness of>5mm (20 %). Three cases were having endometrial adenocarcinoma (30 %), and the rest with endometrial hyperplasia and polyp (70 %). High body mass index was a risk factor for increase endometrial thickness and abnormality with a p-value of 0.007. CONCLUSION Regular vaginal ultrasound examination of asymptomatic women with breast cancer on tamoxifen therapy is a valuable tool to follow the endometrium, and send the patient for histopathological examination for the endometrium if the thickness is > 5mm.

Keywords: tamoxifen, endometrial thickness, breast cancer, vaginal ultrasound