Findings from a retrospective study recently published confirm that pregnancy after breast cancer can be considered safe, since it does not raise the risk of recurrence and/or death.

The study enrolled 1,207 young women diagnosed with early stage breast cancer who were treated in medical centers throughout Europe.

Approximately one third of the women included in the study became pregnant at a median time of two and a half years after being diagnosed, and all of them continued to be followed by their oncology physicians. The remaining women continued their oncology follow-up without becoming pregnant.

Data referring to health status in both study groups were collected on the basis of a ten year follow-up:

No differences regarding breast cancer recurrence and mortality rates were found between breast cancer patients who became pregnant versus those who did not.

Furthermore, among women whose breast cancer was not hormone-sensitive, those who became pregnant had a lower risk of dying compared to those who did not conceive.

In accordance with the study results, the researchers concluded that breast cancer survivors can safely become pregnant. Yet, further research is needed to provide more specific information regarding this issue.

Lambertini M. et al, ASCO 2017 Annual Meeting