WEDNESDAY, March 5 (HealthDay News) -- Because of a potential link between imatinib therapy and ovarian failure, physicians should pay heed to patients' fertility and ovarian function before prescribing the drug, according to a letter published in the March 6 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Constantinos Christopoulos, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues at the Amalia Fleming General Hospital in Athens, Greece, describe a 28-year-old woman who was treated with imatinib for chronic myeloid leukemia. She started at 400 milligrams daily, which was increased to 600 milligrams roughly a year and a half later due to residual disease.

She eventually achieved complete cytogenetic and molecular remission. Six months after her dosage increase, the patient developed oligomenorrhea, which gradually evolved into amenorrhea. Nine months later, she was diagnosed with primary ovarian insufficiency based upon high levels of follicle-stimulating hormone and sharply decreased follicle count.

"These findings suggest that prolonged administration of imatinib may have profound effects on female fertility. The significance of the relatively high dose that the patient received is not known," the authors write. "The true incidence, possible dose dependence, and reversibility of imatinib-induced ovarian failure should be examined in future studies."

Abstract
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