Pregnancy Not a Risk Factor for Recurrence of Breast Cancer

Pregnancy is not a risk for relapse for survivors of breast cancer, says study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Pregnancy in women with history of breast cancer has been debated for many years about its safety, especially in cases of estrogen-receptor (ER) positive breast cancer. Hormone changes can cause breast cancer to spread and it was believed that during pregnancy, the change in hormones was likely to result in recurrence of cancer in survivors of ER positive breast cancer.

The study compared breast cancer survivors who became pregnant with those who did not become pregnant over an average period of 7 years. The study tracked the recurrence rate of breast cancer and found that those who became pregnant did not experience a greater rate of recurrence, even in cases of ER positive breast cancer.

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‘Pregnancy does not increase recurrence rate of breast cancer in women with previous history of breast cancer.’

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These findings show that pregnancy does not increase the risk of breast cancer recurrence, alleviating fears that pregnancy poses a greater risk to breast cancer survivors. The study notes that fears among physicians and patients may be a factor in the high rate of abortion among women who have a history of breast cancer.

Source-Eurekalert

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