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As many as 2.6% of breast cancers are diagnosed during pregnancy. Pregnant women who receive this diagnosis are understandably concerned whether their prognosis is adversely affected by the pregnancy. Belgian investigators used registry data from seven European countries to identify women who received diagnoses of invasive breast cancer during pregnancy (BCP) between 2000 and 2011. Outcomes were compared with those of women aged ≤45 who received the same diagnosis while not pregnant.
Overall, 311 women with BCP were compared with 865 nonpregnant women with BC (median age, 33 and 41, respectively; median follow-up, 61 months). Among women with BCP, 64% received chemotherapy during pregnancy, all during the second or third trimester. During follow-up, 14% of women with BCP and 12% of those in the nonpregnant group died. After adjusting for age at diagnosis, stage, grade, tumor type and receptor status, and chemotherapy, mean disease-free survival probability was 65% for pregnant women and 71% for nonpregnant women. The probabilities of overall survival were 78% and 81%, respectively. These differences were not statistically significant.
Amant F et al. Prognosis of women with primary breast cancer diagnosed during pregnancy: Results from an international collaborative study. J Clin Oncol 2013 Apr 22; [e-pub ahead of print]. (http://dx.doi.org/10.1200/JCO.2012.45.6335)
Comment
An earlier analysis of this cohort showed that, although chemotherapy during pregnancy did not compromise neonatal outcomes or cause congenital malformations, such treatment was significantly associated with preterm delivery (Lancet Oncol 2012; 13:887). Taken together, these findings should allow clinicians to counsel women that their survival will not be shortened because their breast cancer was diagnosed during pregnancy and that chemotherapy can be safely and effectively used in such instances.