Pregnancy after breast cancer. The relationship of pregnancy to breast cancer development and progression

Impact of Fertility Concerns on Tamoxifen Initiation and Persistence

BACKGROUND

Adjuvant tamoxifen reduces breast cancer recurrence risk and mortality; however, initiation and treatment persistence are poor for younger patients. We hypothesized that a unique set of factors, including fertility concerns, would contribute to the poor tamoxifen use among premenopausal patients.

METHODS

From 2007 to 2012, 515 premenopausal patients younger than age 45 years, with stage 0 to III hormone receptor-positive breast cancer, for whom tamoxifen was recommended, were identified. Clinical and pathologic tumor characteristics, treatment regimens, and fertility concerns were recorded. Clinical factors associated with tamoxifen noninitiation and discontinuation were identified using univariate and multivariable analysis. After the recommendation for tamoxifen, patient reasons for tamoxifen noninitiation or discontinuation were also documented. All statistical tests were two-sided.

RESULTS

Based on multivariable analysis, fertility concerns were statistically associated with both noninitiation (odds ratio = 5.04, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 2.29 to 11.07) and early discontinuation (hazard ratio = 1.78, 95% CI = 1.09 to 3.38) of tamoxifen. Other independent predictors of noninitiation included a diagnosis of ductal carcinoma in situ, declining radiation, and not receiving chemotherapy (stage I-III). Additionally, smoking and not receiving radiation therapy were statistically significant predictors of early withdrawal from therapy. Primary patient reasons for noninitiation and early discontinuation included concerns about side effects and fertility.

CONCLUSION

This study provided insight into factors associated with tamoxifen use for reproductive-aged breast cancer survivors, with a new focus on fertility. Fertility concerns negatively impacted tamoxifen initiation and continuation among premenopausal patients. Interventions to optimize treatment initiation and persistence for young cancer patients should include access to fertility preservation options.

Effect of an event occurring over time and confounded by health status: estimation and interpretation. A study based on survival data simulations with application on breast cancer

Estimating the prognostic effect of a time-dependent covariate could be tricky using a classical Cox model, despite adjustment on other known prognostic factors. This study evaluated and compared the performance of a Cox model including the covariate occurring over time as a time-dependent covariate and the so-called 'illness-death' multistate model, which is usually used to describe event-history data. We assess breast cancer prognosis related to a subsequent pregnancy occurring over time after cancer treatment in young women. We generated simulations. We considered constant and time-varying prognostic hazard ratios ( HR(t)) between patients undergoing the intermediate event and those who did not. We used both the classical Cox model and the multistate model to estimate the prognostic effect of the intermediate event HR(t). We also used the latter to estimate the covariate effect on each transition (exp(β(ij) )), thus helping to interpret HR(t) by taking into account the disease history. We applied these approaches to a female cohort treated and followed up in eight French Hospitals since 1990.

Pregnancy after successful cancer treatment: what needs to be considered?

Over the last decade, advances in oncology led to improved treatment results and increasing numbers of long-term cancer survivors. Fulfilling the desire to have children is important for many patients after cancer treatment. Consequently, oncologists, gynecologists and obstetricians are seeing more patients who wish to conceive after treatment. The necessary prerequisites that should be considered when supporting a planned pregnancy after cancer treatment are discussed in this article. The possible consequences of chemotherapy and radiotherapy on the course of pregnancy and the health of the offspring, as well as the interactions between cancer and pregnancy, are reviewed with the focus on childhood cancer, malignant lymphomas, and breast cancer. Despite chemo- or radiotherapy, neither the teratogenic risk nor the risk of adventitious cancers appears to be increased for the offspring of cancer survivors. However, there is a slightly higher risk of miscarriage after chemotherapy. In case of radiation to the uterus, there is a higher risk of premature birth, intrauterine growth retardation, and increased perinatal mortality. The effect is more pronounced after prepubertal radiation than for postpubertal radiation. The former cancer patient's desire to conceive can nevertheless be supported, given that pregnancy and birth are closely monitored.

Successful pregnancy after breast cancer therapy: dream or reality?

Background

Nowadays, more breast cancer patients want to have children after the diagnosis of cancer. The purpose of this study is to review the possibility and risks of giving birth among women with breast cancer previously treated by chemotherapy.

Case presentation

Two young women aged 28 and 34 respectively, were treated in our clinic for breast cancer, the first (negative hormonal receptors) by surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy and the second (positive hormonal receptors) by surgery, radiotherapy and tamoxifen. They both became pregnant, 1 and 8 years after completion of the therapy respectively.

Results

Laboratory testing during pregnancy was negative in both cases and after an uneventful course each woman gave birth to a perfectly healthy child. The first patient breastfed her baby for three months, while the second one did not breastfeed her baby at all.

Conclusion

Women undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer can maintain their fertility and get pregnant. Previous chemotherapy for breast cancer does not present any supplementary risks for the child's mental or physical health.

Management strategies for patients with nipple discharge

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

The aim of this study was to assess management strategies for patients with nipple discharge (ND).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The records of 13,443 women with breast-related complaints who were examined by the same surgeon between 1 January 1960 and 31 December 2000 were retrospectively assessed. Patients with ND were grouped according to whether they had had a spontaneous or provoked discharge. The parameters investigated in each group were age, physical findings, number of pregnancies, duration of lactation, duration of discharge, colour of discharge, and histopathological features. Chi-square and Mann-Whitney U-tests were used for statistical analysis.

RESULTS

ND was the presenting symptom in 603 (4.5%) of the cases. Two hundred and eighty-seven (48%) of the 603 patients showed spontaneous nipple discharge (SND group) and the other 316 (52%) showed provoked nipple discharge (PND group). In the SND group, 124 (43%) tissue specimens were obtained by either biopsy or sub-areolar exploration. Histopathological examination revealed that the most frequent causes of ND in these cases were intraductal papilloma (49 patients; 40%), intraductal carcinoma (35 patients; 28%), and cystic disease (15 patients; 12%). Twenty tissue specimens were obtained from the group with PND. In these cases, the most frequently identified causes of ND were cystic disease (seven patients; 35%), intraductal papilloma (six patients; 30%), ductal ectasia (two patients; 10%), and carcinoma (one patient; 5%). The SND and PND groups differed significantly with respect to age (P = 0.001) and duration of ND (P = 0.008). The incidence of cancer was higher in the SND specimens than in the PND specimens (28% vs 5%, respectively; P = 0.01). The number of pregnancies was significantly higher and the duration of lactation was significantly longer in the SND group (P = 0.03 and P = 0.02, respectively).

CONCLUSION

The study confirms previous reports that patients with SND have a higher incidence of carcinoma than those with PND. The results suggest that older age, higher number of pregnancies, and longer duration of lactation may predispose to cancer development in patients with SND. The possibility of breast cancer should also be kept in mind when one is assessing patients with PND. Careful physical examination and close follow-up is the optimal management strategy for patients with any type of ND.

Effects of pregnancy after treatment for breast carcinoma on survival and risk of recurrence

BACKGROUND

The goal of the current study was to assess the effect of pregnancy on the subsequent risk of recurrence after treatment for breast carcinoma, adjusting for established prognostic factors.

METHODS

Between 1974 and 1998, 383 patients age < or =35 years were treated for breast carcinoma with adjuvant chemotherapy at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center (Houston, TX). The median follow-up period was 13 years. Of these, 13 patients were excluded from analysis, as no history was available regarding pregnancy; 240 (65%) were >30 years old; 47 (13%) had at least 1 pregnancy after therapy; 32 had full-term pregnancies; 10 had spontaneous or elective abortions; 4 had miscarriages; and 1 had a premature delivery. Estrogen receptor (ER) status, lymph node involvement, and disease stage were evaluated as potential risk factors for recurrence. Information on ER status was unavailable for 123 (33%) patients.

RESULTS

Patients who experienced a pregnancy tended to have earlier-stage disease (Stage I/II: 80% vs. 73%), fewer positive lymph nodes (<4: 87% vs. 52%), more ER negativity (68% vs. 58%), and younger age (<30 years: 57% vs. 32%) than patients who did not. The incidence of disease recurrence was 23% for women who experienced a pregnancy and 54% for women who did not. The hazard ratio (using the multivariate Cox proportional hazards model) for disease recurrence in patients with posttreatment pregnancy was 0.71 (P=0.4).

CONCLUSIONS

In the current study population, pregnancy was not associated with an increased risk of disease recurrence or poorer survival in patients previously treated for breast carcinoma.