Is Pregnancy Safe in Women With Early BRCA-Mutated Breast Cancer?
Posted: Monday, August 17, 2020
For women with early breast cancer and germline BRCA mutations, pregnancy may continue to be a safe option without apparent worsening of maternal prognosis or hampering of fetal outcomes, according to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. “The findings are of paramount importance for health-care providers involved in counseling young women with BRCA-mutated breast cancer who are interested about the feasibility and safety of future conception,” reported Hatem A. Azim Jr, MD, PhD, of Centro de Cancer de Mama del Hospital Zambrano Hellion, Mexico, and colleagues.
A total of 1,252 patients with early breast cancer and germline BRCA mutations were enrolled in the international, retrospective cohort study. All patients were younger than age 40 and had a diagnosis of early breast cancer between 2000 and 2012. BRCA mutations included BRCA1 (n = 811), BRCA2 (n = 430), and BRCA1/2 (n = 11). Patients were grouped by those who had and had not been pregnant.
The study findings revealed that 195 patients had at least a single pregnancy after early breast cancer. The 10-year pregnancy rate was 19%. In addition, 8.2% and 10.3% of women experienced induced abortions and miscarriages, respectively. Moreover, 11.6% and 1.8% of women experienced pregnancy complications and congenital anomalies, respectively.
Furthermore, there was an 8.3-year median follow-up from the patient’s diagnosis of breast cancer. However, there were no differences observed for disease-free survival (hazard ratio = 0.87) or overall survival (hazard ratio = 0.88) between the pregnancy and nonpregnancy patient groups.
“These results provide reassurance to patients with BRCA-mutated breast cancer interested in future fertility,” the authors concluded.
Disclosure: For full disclosures of the study authors, visit ascopubs.org.
