Breast Cancer During Pregnancy

Abstract

Breast cancer remains the most common cancer in women. A diagnosis of cancer during pregnancy is uncommon. In recent decades, obstetricians are seeing an increasing number of women who become pregnant or desire to become pregnant after breast cancer treatment because of a delay in childbearing for a variety of reasons, including cultural, educational, and professional. Consequently, breast cancer in young women often occurs before the completion of reproductive plans.A discussion among the patient, the oncologist, and the obstetrician on the relative benefits of early delivery followed by treatment versus commencement of therapy while continuing the pregnancy is of utmost importance in order to reach a consensual decision. The best available evidence suggests that pregnancy after breast cancer increases the risk of recurrence. The birth outcome in women with a history of breast cancer is no different from that in the normal female population; however, increased risks of delivery complications have been reported in the literature.As concurrent pregnancy and breast cancer are uncommon, there are no data from large randomized trials; hence, recommendations are mainly based on retrospective studies.

Gestational breast cancer in New South Wales: A population-based linkage study of incidence, management, and outcomes

“…In Australia, breast cancer is the second most common cancer diagnosed during pregnancy after melanoma, with an incidence of 7.3 per 100,000 women giving birth [ 2 ]. The incidence of gestational breast cancer (GBC), defined as a first-time diagnosis of breast cancer during pregnancy, is increasing in high-income countries, in part due to the increasing age of mothers [ 3 – 5 ].…”

Pregnancy outcomes in non-gynecological and non-hematological cancers: a retrospective cohort

“…All women who were delivered before 34 weeks were given Betamethasone to improve lung maturity in the neonate. 3 IA -Iodine ablation, 4 TOP -Termination of pregnancy, 5 LSCS -Lower segment caesarean section, 6 CT -Chemotherapy, 7 RT -Radiotherapy, 8 CNS -Central nervous system, 9 GIT -Gastrointestinal tract, 10 LTF -Lost to follow-up.…”

“…3 In this study majority of women with breast cancer were allowed to continue pregnancy as it is seen that treatment delays due to pregnancy did not have an adverse effect on the outcome of breast cancer and studies have not shown that terminating a pregnancy improves a woman's prognosis. 7 Central nervous system malignancies during pregnancy is again rare. The type of malignancies in decreasing frequencies are gliomas, meningiomas and neuroma.…”

Pregnancy and labour likelihood after breast cancer (a review)

“…был проведен сравнительный анализ женщин, которые забеременели в течение 6 месяцев после постановки диагноза рака молочной железы, с теми пациентками, которые забеременели между 6 и 24 месяцами и более чем через 5 лет после постановки диагноза. Было обнаружено, что пятилетняя выживаемость у данных групп женщин составила 54%, 78% и 100% соответственно [32]. Другое популяционное исследование, проведенное в 2006 г., показало статистически незначимое повышение риска смертности у женщин с диагнозом рака молочной железы, беременность у которых наступила менее чем за 6 месяцев; однако если интервал между постановкой диагноза и беременностью составлял более 2 лет, то было выявлено значительное снижение риска [33].…”