Maternal and neonatal outcomes of cancer during pregnancy: a multi-center observational study

Double fatal consequences of distance metastasis in nasopharyngeal carcinoma after a completed chemoradiation in pregnancy: A case report

Distant metastasis in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients is one of the reasons for the decreased life expectancy with the most common metastasis spreads are to the bone, liver, and lung. Hepatoma is the most frequent liver malignancy and is one of the highest causes of cancer death worldwide and this can be as a result of NPC metastasis. The aim of this case report was to present a patient with hepatoma in pregnancy as a result of NPC metastasis. A 34-year-old pregnant female at 24-25 weeks of gestation presented with a chief complaint of heartburn and unbearable pain radiating to the back. Previous medical history reported that the patient had a liver enlargement. The patient was G4P2A1 with a single living intrauterine fetus and active fetal movements. The patient has a history of NPC and received a completed chemoradiation one month prior to hospital admission. Physical examination showed bilateral rales and palpable diffuse multiple nodule masses in the upper right abdominal quadrant. Laboratory examination revealed anemia, thrombocytopenia, negative hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), and elevated liver markers. Abdominal ultrasonography results showed multiple diffuse nodules in the liver. The patient was diagnosed with a metastatic hepatoma based on the clinical and imaging findings. During hospitalization, the patient repeatedly experienced pleural effusion with suspicion metastases. A few days later, the fetal movements stopped and the ultrasonography indicated negative fetal heart rate. After experiencing respiratory distress for hours, the patient expired the day after. This case highlights that due to the potential adverse effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, the initiation of these therapies should be carefully decided to avoid adverse effects to mother and fetus.

Adverse birth outcomes among offspring born to women diagnosed with cancer: a population-based cohort study

BACKGROUND

With increasing cancer incidence and survival rates, the prevalence of maternal cancer and its effect on adverse birth outcomes are important for prenatal care and oncology management. However, the effects of different types of cancer at different gestational stages have not been widely reported.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to describe the epidemiologic characteristics of pregnancy-associated cancers (during and 1 year after pregnancy) and evaluate the association between adverse birth outcomes and maternal cancers.

METHODS

Of 983,162 cases, a history of maternal cancer, including pregestational cancer, pregnancy-associated cancer, and subsequent cancer, was identified in 16,475 cases using a health information network. The incidence and 95% confidence interval of pregnancy-associated cancer were calculated with the Poisson distribution. The adjusted risk ratio with 95% confidence interval of the association between adverse birth outcomes and maternal cancer were estimated using the multilevel log-binomial model.

RESULTS

A total of 38,295 offspring were born to mothers with a cancer history. Of these, 2583 (6.75%) were exposed to pregnancy-associated cancer, 30,706 (80.18%) had a subsequent cancer diagnosis, and 5006 (13.07%) were exposed to pregestational cancer. The incidence of pregnancy-associated cancer was 2.63 per 1000 pregnancies (95% confidence interval, 2.53‰-2.73‰), with cancer of the thyroid (1.15‰), breast (0.25‰), and female reproductive organs (0.23‰) being the most common cancer types. The increased risks of preterm birth and low birthweight were significantly associated with cancer diagnosed during the second and third trimester of pregnancy, whereas increased risks of birth defects (adjusted risk ratio, 1.48; 95% confidence interval, 1.08-2.04) were associated with cancer diagnosed in the first trimester. Increased risks of preterm birth (adjusted risk ratio, 1.16; 95% confidence interval, 1.02-1.32), low birthweight (adjusted risk ratio, 1.24; 95% confidence interval, 1.07-1.44), and birth defects (adjusted risk ratio, 1.22; 95% confidence interval, 1.10-1.35) were observed in thyroid cancer survivors.

CONCLUSION

Careful monitoring of fetal growth should be implemented for women diagnosed with cancer in the second and third trimester to ensure timely delivery and balance the benefits of neonatal health and cancer treatment. The higher incidence of thyroid cancer and increased risk of adverse birth outcomes among thyroid cancer survivors suggested that the regular thyroid function monitoring and regulation of thyroid hormone levels are important in maintaining pregnancy and promoting fetal development among thyroid cancer survivors before and during pregnancy.

Maternal survival of patients with pregnancy-associated cancers in Taiwan - A national population-based study

Pregnancy-associated cancer (PAC), defined as cancers diagnosed during pregnancy or the first year after delivery, affects one to two in every 1000 pregnancies. Although PAC is expected to be a growing issue, information about PAC in the Asian population is still scarce. Women with cancer diagnosed at the age of 16-49 years between 2001 and 2015 were selected from the Taiwan Cancer Registry and linked with the National Birth Reporting Database to identify PAC patients. We compared the overall survival of patients with PAC to patients without pregnancy. Among 126,646 female cancer patients of childbearing age, 512 were diagnosed during pregnancy, and 2151 during the first postpartum year. Breast cancer was the most common PAC (N = 755, 28%). Compared with patients without pregnancy in the control group, patients with cancers diagnosed during pregnancy and the first postpartum year generally had more advanced stages (odds ratio 1.35 and 1.36, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.02-1.77 and 1.18-1.57, respectively). For all cancer types combined and controlled for the stage, age, and year of diagnosis, patients with PAC had similar overall survival with those in the control group, with a hazard ratio (HR) of 1.07 (95% CI 0.80-1.41) for the pregnancy group and HR 1.02 (95% CI 0.88-1.18) for the postpartum group. The diagnosis of breast cancer during the first postpartum year was linked with shorter survival (HR 1.34, 95% CI 1.05-1.72). In contrast, patients with postpartum lymphoma (HR 0.11, 95% CI 0.02-0.79) and cervical cancer (HR 0.40, 95% CI 0.20-0.82) had better prognosis. In general, the diagnosis of cancer during pregnancy or the first postpartum year does not affect the survival of patients with most cancer types. Exceptions include the worse prognosis of postpartum breast cancer and the better outcome of postpartum lymphoma and cervical cancer.