Fertility and outcomes of pregnancy after chemotherapy in a sample of childbearing aged women

Abstract

The aim of the study was to review the characteristics and outcomes of pregnancies occurring in women of childbearing age after chemotherapy for malignant disease. Between November 1998 and October 1999, a total of 16 patients who were treated for ovary (three), mole (one), vaginal (one), breast (four), Hodgkin's disease (four), lung (one), melanoma (one) and osteosarcoma (one) carcinoma were identified and retrospectively questioned about their fertility status. All the 16 women included in this study received at least one alkylating agent. Five patients (31%) experienced anomalies of hormonal cycle during and after the treatment. All of them recovered normal cycle without consequence of fertility. Caesarean section was performed in seven of 20 (35%) pregnancies with known outcomes. No obstetrical events were reported. The 16 women had 21 pregnancies resulting in 18 normal infants, one newborn with a minor abnormality (tallus foot), one spontaneous abortion and one lost of follow-up to 6 months of pregnancy. The present survey suggests that cytotoxic drug exposure had no deleterious effects on subsequent pregnancies. A prospective and systemic survey would be the only means able to clarify the actual cancer therapy on reproductive outcome and to investigate the long-term effects in the progeny.

Fertility outcome of breast cancer and Hodgkin’s lymphoma female survivors: a growing clinical challenge for gynecologists and oncologists

“…Valentgas et al [56] found that miscarriages occurred in 24% of 53 breast cancer survivors compared with 18% of control women without breast cancer of similar ages (Table 4) [43,56,58,59]. Other authors reported that cytotoxic drug exposure had no deleterious effects on subsequent pregnancies in terms of miscarriages or congenital malformation [43,[57][58][59][60][61].…”