Hormone replacement therapy improves bone mass of women after HSCT

Early and active hormonal therapy confers benefits for bone mineral density (BMD) in female patients with premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) who underwent allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), a recent study has found.

The investigators sought to examine the effects of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) on BMD in young women who received HSCT. They formed a retrospective cohort involving 234 female HSCT recipients with POI between April 2009 and April 2016 at Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital in Korea. Eligibility criteria included adults aged ≤40 years at the time of transplantation and were followed for at least 3 years after HSCT.

A significant increase in BMD of the lumbar spine was observed in the HRT group (n=170; p=0.033) compared to that in the non-HRT group (n=64; p=0.047) at the first and second years after HRT.

BMD of the lumbar spine significantly increased from baseline by 4.16±4.39 percent after 1 year of HRT (p=0.037) and 5.42±5.86 percent after 2 years (p=0.021). A significant percentage increase in BMD of the femoral neck and total hip was also observed from baseline after 2 years of HRT. Such changes remained significant even in the presence of graft-versus-host disease or steroid exposure.

Notably, the greatest increase in BMD of the lumbar spine was seen after 2 years of HRT for those who initiated such therapy within 12 months after HSCT, according to the investigators.