The prostate drug goserelin has been shown effective in clinical trials for lowering the chances a young breast cancer survivor will experience early menopause and the end to her childbearing years — a common side effect of life-saving chemotherapy, the Medical Daily reported.

Women who took the drug also lost less estrogen and were more likely to get pregnant, with improved long-term survivability, too. "We found that, in addition to reducing the risk of early menopause, and all of the symptoms that go along with menopause, goserelin was very safe and may even improve survival," study leader Kathy Albain said in a press statement.

In the study, the investigators randomly assigned 131 early-stage breast cancer patients to treatment of standard chemotherapy, with another 126 receiving a combination of chemotherapy and goserelin. After two years, women receiving the experimental drug were less than half as likely as others to have experienced early menopause or to have elevated levels of the hormone FSH, a key indicator of reproductive health problems. Similarly, the pregnancy rate was nearly twice as high among those who took goserelin.

The findings were presented Friday at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.