Prognosis of pregnancy-associated breast cancer

Article Abstract:

There has been some suspicion that breast cancer diagnosed during pregnancy or within the first postpartum year has a poorer prognosis than breast cancer in a non-pregnant woman of comparable age. Much of this belief, however, has been based on anecdotal evidence, and since breast cancer associated with pregnancy is relatively uncommon, this evidence is unreliable. In order to provide more accurate estimates of the prognosis of breast cancer during pregnancy, medical records were reviewed to identify these cases. A total of 56 women were discovered who were diagnosed with breast cancer either during pregnancy or within the first year after giving birth. The diagnoses were made between 1960 and 1980. These patients were compared with non-pregnant women with breast cancer, who were diagnosed at comparable ages and treated by the same physicians at the same hospital. The data indicated that the status of the lymph nodes at the time of diagnosis was the major determinant of survival, as has been found time after time in breast cancer research. Among women with cancer-negative lymph nodes at the time of diagnosis, the 10-year survival was 77 percent for the pregnant women and 75 percent for the non-pregnant women, not a significant difference. Among node-positive women, the 10-year survival was 25 and 41 percent for pregnant and non-pregnant women, respectively. An insufficient number of women were identified in the present study to evaluate any advantage to therapeutic abortion in cases of breast cancer that is diagnosed during pregnancy. However, the results of the study suggest that the pregnancy does not constitute a risk for the mother. The major concern is the risk of chemotherapy, if needed, for the fetus. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Cases, Pregnancy, Complications of, Pregnancy complications

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Relative effect of steroid hormone receptors on the prognosis of patients with operable breast cancer: a univariate and multivariate analysis of 3089 Japanese patients with breast cancer from the study group for the Japanese Breast Cancer Society on hormone receptors and prognosis in breast cancer

Article Abstract:

The characteristics of breast cancer cells play an important role in the eventual outcome of the disease. Research has shown that the presence of receptor molecules for the steroid sex hormones estrogen and progesterone on the surface of breast cancer cells generally means a better prognosis. However, there are other features of breast cancer cells which also correlate with better survival. Some researchers believe that the hormone receptors are simply newly found aspects of other more traditional prognostic indicators and add nothing new to the overall prognosis. A study of the role of hormone receptors was completed in Japan, a nation with a lower rate of breast cancer and a better prognosis for breast cancer in general. A total of 3,089 women from 10 hospitals were able to be evaluated. The study found that the presence or absence of hormone receptors was unrelated to the relapse-free survival of the patients when the patients were considered as a whole. Among patients with four or more lymph nodes affected by cancer at the time of surgery, relapse-free survival was longer among the patients with progesterone receptors. A similar trend was observed among patients with estrogen receptors, but the trend did not achieve statistical significance. However, while relapse-free survival was not significantly different, overall survival was longer among the women with estrogen receptors. The beneficial effect of estrogen receptors was most evident among the women with four or more affected lymph nodes. The presence of estrogen receptors on breast cancer cells appears to be an important predictor of the length of survival after a breast cancer relapse has occurred. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Health aspects, Hormone receptors, Progesterone, Progesterone receptors

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