[ PRINT ] [ Printing FAQ ] About OncoLink Editorial Board Sponsors Help See Today's OncoTip Usage Statistics Virtual Classroom Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute "Confronting Cancer Through Art" is an exhibition by people whose lives have been touched by cancer. This week we are featuring artwork by: Jacqueline Kniewasser Pontypool, Ontario Visit the Children's Art Gallery This week's artwork was donated by a pediatric cancer patient who received treatment for cancer at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Pregnancy in Breast Cancer Patients Authors: Lawrence Solin, M.D. Affiliations: Department of Radiation Oncology University of Pennsylvania Cancer Center Posting Date - August 11, 1995 Last Revision Date: Sunday, 14-Feb-1999 13:54:27 EST Copyright © 1995, The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania Breast cancer associated with a simultaneous pregnancy is a difficult management problem. There are potentially conflicting issues relating to the treatment of the breast cancer and the management of the fetus. Breast cancer associated with pregnancy is rare, with a frequency of approximately 3 breast cancers per 10,000 pregnancies. Breast cancer in pregnant patients tends to present at a later stage of diagnosis. This tendency for later stage further compounds treatment issues as aggressive, multimodality therapy for the breast cancer is commonly warranted, particularly in young patients. Both the stage of the breast cancer and how long the patient has been pregnant must be considered in making treatment recommendations. For early stage breast cancer (AJCC stages I/II), options for treatment are: mastectomy during pregnancy; termination of pregnancy, breast conservation surgery, and definitive breast irradiation; or breast conservation surgery, continuation of pregnancy to delivery, and delayed definitive breast irradiation. Option #3 is associated with an increased risk of local recurrence in the breast because of the delay in radiation treatment. For advanced stage breast cancer (AJCC stages III/IV), termination of pregnancy, if possible, is almost always recommended because of the need for aggressive, combined modality therapy. The outcome of treatment for breast cancer associated with pregnancy is difficult to determine because of the small number of patients reported and because of the tendency towards more advanced stage at diagnosis. However, on a stage adjusted basis, there is a suggestion of worse survival for the pregnant breast cancer patient compared with the non-pregnant breast cancer patient. Pregnancy in a patient who has previously been treated for a breast cancer is a very rare occurrence. However, the little outcome data reported suggests that pregnancy after a previously treated breast cancer is not deleterious to the patient. For the occasional young patient with breast cancer who has undergone appropriate treatment, there is no reason for the physician to counsel the patient not to become pregnant, particularly as these patients have relatively few potential child-bearing years and often have difficulty becoming pregnant. Further information and a more complete discussion can be found in: Solin, L.J.: Special Considerations. In: Breast Cancer Treatment: A Comprehensive Guide to Management. Fowble, B.F., et al. (editors). Mosby Year Book, St. Louis, 1991. pp. 521-549.

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