Surgery and chemotherapy are possible for pregnant women with breast cancer
Breast cancer in pregnant women is as common as in non-pregnant women of the same age, with no evidence to suggest pregnancy increases the risk of such cancer. In the majority of cases, pregnant women can have their breast cancer treated with surgery or chemotherapy or both, and the aim in most cases should be a normal length pregnancy to avoid the harm to the unborn child that can be caused by premature birth. Termination of the pregnancy does not improve the outcome for the mother. The issues around this delicate subject are discussed in the second paper in The Lancet Series on cancer in pregnancy, written by Dr Frédéric Amant, Multidisciplinary Breast Cancer Center, Leuven Cancer Institute, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium, and colleagues.