Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Sublingual estradiol (E) for gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) of transgender women (TW) might obviate the need for an anti-androgen, and mitigate pro-coagulant changes. We recently showed that 2 mg E, divided into 4 daily SL doses (SLE), offers no clinical advantage over the same dose given orally in combination with cyproterone acetate (CPA). Furthermore, we showed that after each sublingual administration, serum E2 (sE2) peaked to levels, the likes of which are achieved only during induction of ovulation with gonadotrophins.

Hypothesis and Aim: Given the exceedingly high peak sE2 measured under SLE-GAHT, we hypothesized it could lead to partial acquired Protein S deficiency, a recognized pro-thrombotic state and risk factor for venous thromboembolic events (VTE). Our aim was to assess the hemostatic system under SLE in comparison with the standard combined oral (CO) approach.

Design and Methods: In this ongoing open label study, treatment-naïve TW are assigned in a 1:1 ratio (15 in each arm) to either standard CO (2 mg E2 with 10 mg CPA once daily), or to 2 mg sublingual E divided into 4 daily doses for 6 months (6M). An extensive battery of hemostatic biomarkers, including free Protein S antigen (fPS), are assessed at baseline (BL) and at 6M.

Results: We herein report on 27 subjects (15 CO/12 SLE) who initiated treatment, 17 of whom have already completed it. The median age of the cohort is 20 y (IQR 19-27; range 18-42]. There were no BL differences between the groups. At 6M, none of the hemostatic markers differed between the groups except for fPS, which was significantly lower in the SL group 79.7±11.6% vs 104.6±5.6%, P=0.039. By paired comparisons for the entire group, fPS decreased from 104.2±5.2% at BL to 95.8±5.9% at 6M, P=0.003. This was entirely accounted for by the change in the SLE group, in which fPS went down from 95.7±10.3% to 79.7±11.6%, P<0.001; with some values reaching the fPS deficiency range. In contrast, fPS, remained unchanged under CO 108.9±5.7% and 104.5±5.2%, at BL and 6M respectively, P=0.153.

Conclusions: The most notable interim finding was a clinically significant decrease in fPS under low dose SLE. Given the extreme peaks of sE2 we previously reported with this protocol, an acquired deficiency of this natural anti-coagulant was expected. These preliminary findings support our hypothesis and raise the concern that GAHT of TW with chronic SLE might carry an increased long-term risk for VTE.