Protecting Effects of Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Agonist on Chemotherapy-Induced Ovarian Damage in Premenopausal Breast Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

OBJECTIVE

There is no universal consensus on whether gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist could protect chemotherapy-induced ovarian damage in premenopausal breast cancer patients. This meta-analysis was conducted to estimate the protective effects of GnRH agonist on premenopausal breast cancer patients in details.

METHODS

PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, CNKI and the Chinese Wangfang Database, conference proceedings and clinical trials were searched to find studies reported since 2000. Heterogeneity for the eligible data was assessed and a pooled odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated.

RESULTS

Resumption of menses rate was improved in the GnRH agonist and chemotherapy-combination groups versus chemotherapy-alone groups (OR = 1.36, 95% CI: 1.19-1.56). Furthermore, the results indicated that spontaneous pregnancy rate was improved in the experimental groups versus the controls (OR = 1.90, 95% CI: 1.06-3.41). In addition, no publication bias was found using a Begg's funnel plot.

CONCLUSION

The results of the current meta-analysis indicate that a GnRH agonist could improve resumption of menses rate and pregnancy rate for premenopausal breast cancer patients. However, more evaluation may be considered to prove this theory.