Abstract

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is one of the most frequently encountered malignancies in women. Although the prognosis is good for most breast cancer patients, little is known about the outcomes of breast carcinoma during pregnancy. The long-term results and predictors of survival of conservative breast surgery for breast cancer during pregnancy are especially unclear.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: Patients with primary diagnosis of breast cancer during pregnancy who received conservative breast surgery were recruited in this study from October 2009 to January 2015. Clinical data were collected and compared to individuals without associated pregnancies. The primary outcome disease-free survival (DFS) and the secondary outcome, overall survival (OS), were compared between the 2 groups (pregnant vs. nonpregnant women). Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was used to assess the potential predictors of survival for breast cancer patients during pregnancy.

RESULTS: Sixty-three pregnant patients underwent conservative breast carcinoma. The median gestational age was 26 weeks and the median age was 34 years. The nonpregnant group consists of 82 individuals with median age of 37 years. All the patients received chemotherapy after surgery. The follow-up period was 3 years. The 3-year DFS was 79.3% in the pregnant group and 81.7% in the nonpregnant group. The 3-year OS was 87.3% (pregnant) and 89% (nonpregnant), respectively. Multivariable analysis revealed that tumor stage and chemotherapy were independent predictors for survival.

CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed that conservative breast surgery is a reliable therapy for breast cancer patients during pregnancy, with similar DFS and OS compared to nonpregnant patients.

Keywords: Breast Neoplasms, Mastectomy, Segmental, Pregnancy, Prognosis, Case-Control Studies, Disease-Free Survival, Mastectomy, Middle Aged, Pregnancy Complications, Neoplastic, Treatment Outcome