Eraas for Menopause Treatment: Welcome the ‘Designer Estrogens’
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REVIEW CME LEARNING OBJECTIVE: Readers will tailor hormone therapy to the needs of the patient CREDIT HEATHER D. HIRSCH, MD, MS, NCMP ELIM SHIH, MD, NCMP HOLLY L. THACKER, MD, NCMP Assistant Professor, Clinical Internal Medicine, Division Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Director of Center for Specialized Women’s Health, of General Internal Medicine, The Ohio State University, Women’s Health Institute, Cleveland Clinic Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Women’s Columbus, and Center for Women’s Health, Health Institute, Cleveland Clinic; Professor, Cleveland The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Upper Arlington, OH Reserve University, Cleveland, OH ERAAs for menopause treatment: Welcome the ‘designer estrogens’ ABSTRACT strogen receptor agonist-antagonists E(ERAAs), previously called selective es- Estrogen receptor agonist-antagonists (ERAAs) selec- trogen receptor modulators (SERMs), have tively inhibit or stimulate estrogen-like action in targeted extended the options for treating the vari- tissues. This review summarizes how ERAAs can be used ous conditions that menopausal women suffer in combination with an estrogen or alone to treat meno- from. These drugs act differently on estrogen pausal symptoms (vasomotor symptoms, genitourinary receptors in different tissues, stimulating re- syndrome of menopause), breast cancer or the risk of ceptors in some tissues but inhibiting them breast cancer, osteopenia, osteoporosis, and other female in others. This allows selective inhibition or midlife concerns. stimulation of estrogen-like action in various target tissues.1 KEY POINTS This article highlights the use of ERAAs Tamoxifen is approved to prevent and treat breast cancer. to treat menopausal vasomotor symptoms It may also have beneficial effects on bone and on car- (eg, hot flashes, night sweats), genitourinary diovascular risk factors, but these are not approved uses. syndrome of menopause, osteoporosis, breast cancer (and the risk of breast cancer), and other health concerns unique to women at Raloxifene, a second-generation ERAA, was initially ap- midlife. proved for preventing and treating osteoporosis and later received approval to reduce the risk of invasive estro- ■ SYMPTOMS OF MENOPAUSE: gen receptor-positive breast cancer in postmenopausal COMMON AND TROUBLESOME women. Vasomotor symptoms such as hot flashes and night sweats are common during perimeno- Ospemifene is approved for treatment of genitourinary pause—most women experience them. They syndrome of menopause. are most frequent during the menopause tran- sition but can persist for 10 years or more af- The combination of conjugated estrogen and bazedoxi- terward.2 fene is approved for treating moderate to severe vasomo- Genitourinary syndrome of menopause tor symptoms associated with menopause and also for is also common and often worsens with years preventing postmenopausal osteoporosis in women with after menopause.3 It can lead to dyspareunia an intact uterus. and vaginal dryness, which may in turn result in lower libido, vaginismus, and hypoactive sexual desire disorder, problems that often arise at the same time as vaginal dryness and atrophy.4 Osteopenia and osteoporosis. A drop in systemic estrogen leads to a decline in bone doi:10.3949/ccjm.84a.15140 mineral density, increasing the risk of fractures.5 CLEVELAND CLINIC JOURNAL OF MEDICINE VOLUME 84 • NUMBER 6 JUNE 2017 463 Downloaded from www.ccjm.org on September 27, 2021. For personal use only. All other uses require permission. DESIGNER ESTROGENS TABLE 1 Designer estrogens and their uses Agent Approved uses Other possible benefits Adverse effects Tamoxifen To treat metastatic breast cancer Positive effect on bone Venous thromboembolism and ductal carcinoma in situ Positive effect on cardiovascular Uterine neoplasia To reduce the risk of estrogen risk receptor-positive breast cancer in Vasomotor symptoms women at high risk Raloxifene To prevent and treat osteoporosis Reduction in breast cancer risk Venous thromboembolism To reduce the risk of invasive estro- Stroke gen receptor-positive breast cancer in postmenopausal women Ospemifene To treat genitourinary syndrome of Positive effect on bone Venous thromboembolism menopause Conjugated In women with a uterus: to prevent Positive effects on uterus, genito- Venous thromboembolism estrogen- osteoporosis and treat vasomotor urinary syndrome of menopause bazedoxifene symptoms of menopause ■ ESTROGEN-PROGESTIN TREATMENT: have estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer THE GOLD STANDARD, BUT NOT IDEAL cannot take estrogen. The current gold standard for treating moder- Individualized options are needed for women who have progestin-related side ef- ERAAs have ate to severe hot flashes is estrogen, available in oral, transdermal, and vaginal formulations.6 fects, unwanted vaginal bleeding, or a higher extended Estrogen also has antiresorptive effects on bone risk of breast cancer. the options and is approved for preventing osteoporosis. Systemic estrogen may also be prescribed for ■ WELCOME THE ERAAs for treating genitourinary syndrome of menopause if local An ideal treatment for menopause would relieve the various vaginal treatment alone is insufficient. vasomotor symptoms and genitourinary syn- conditions If women who have an intact uterus receive drome of menopause and increase bone mineral estrogen, they should also receive a progestin to density without causing breast tenderness, vagi- menopausal protect against endometrial hyperplasia and re- nal bleeding, or endometrial proliferation. women suffer duce the risk of endometrial cancer. The “designer estrogens,” or ERAAs, have from Despite its status as the gold standard, es- specific positive effects on the bone, heart, and trogen-progestin therapy presents challenges. brain with neutral or antagonist effects on estro- In some women, progestins cause side effects gen receptors in other tissues such as the breasts such as breast tenderness, bloating, fatigue, and endometrium.8 While not entirely free of and depression.7 Estrogen-progestin therapy adverse effects, these agents have been devel- often causes vaginal bleeding, which for some oped with the aim of minimizing the most com- women is troublesome or distressing; bleed- mon ones related to estrogen and progestin. ing may be the reason for repeated evalua- Several ERAAs are currently approved by tions, can increase anxiety, and can lead to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) poor adherence with hormonal treatment. for various indications, each having a unique Women who carry a higher-than-normal risk profile. Clomifene was the first agent of this of developing breast cancer or fear that taking class, and it is still used clinically to induce hormones will lead to breast cancer may show ovulation. This article highlights subsequent- decreased adherence to therapy. Women who ly approved agents, ie, tamoxifen, raloxifene, 464 CLEVELAND CLINIC JOURNAL OF MEDICINE VOLUME 84 • NUMBER 6 JUNE 2017 Downloaded from www.ccjm.org on September 27, 2021. For personal use only. All other uses require permission. HIRSCH AND COLLEAGUES ospemifene, and the combination of conju- The IBIS-I trial (International Breast gated estrogens and bazedoxifene (Table 1). Cancer Intervention Study I)13 found that, in All ERAAs increase the risk of venous throm- healthy women at high risk of breast cancer, boembolism, and therefore none of them should be the benefit of taking tamoxifen for 5 years as used in women with known venous thromboem- preventive treatment persisted long afterward. bolism or at high risk of it. The investigators estimated that at 20 years of follow-up the risk of breast cancer would ■ TAMOXIFEN: be 12.3% in placebo recipients and 7.8% in CANCER TREATMENT AND PREVENTION tamoxifen recipients, a 4.5% absolute risk re- After clomiphene, tamoxifen was the second duction; number needed to treat (NNT) 22. ERAA on the market. Although researchers Data on tamoxifen and osteoporosis were looking for a new contraceptive drug, The Breast Cancer Prevention Trial revealed they found tamoxifen to be useful as a chemo- a 19% reduction in the incidence of osteopo- therapeutic agent for breast cancer. First used rotic fractures with tamoxifen, but the differ- in 1971, tamoxifen continues to be one of the ence was not statistically significant.14 The most commonly prescribed chemotherapeutic 1-year rates of fracture in women age 50 and medications today. older were 0.727% with placebo and 0.567% The FDA has approved tamoxifen to treat with tamoxifen, an absolute difference of breast cancer as well as to prevent breast can- 0.151%; therefore, if the effect is real, 662 cer in pre- and postmenopausal women at risk. women age 50 or older would need to be treat- It may also have beneficial effects on bone and ed for 1 year to prevent 1 fracture. Tamoxifen on cardiovascular risk factors, but these are is not FDA-approved to treat osteoporosis. not approved uses for it. Data on tamoxifen and cardiovascular risk Trials of tamoxifen for cancer treatment reduction The Early Breast Cancer Trialists’ Collab- Chang et al,15 in a study in women at risk of orative Group9 performed a meta-analysis and breast cancer, incidentally found that tamoxi- found that 5 years of adjuvant treatment with fen was associated with a 13% reduction in Women with tamoxifen is associated with a 26% reduction total cholesterol compared with placebo. a uterus 16 in mortality and a 47% reduction in breast Herrington and Klein, in a systematic