Maternal and perinatal outcomes in pregnancy-associated melanoma. Report of two cases and a systematic literature review

Abstract

When diagnosed at early stages, melanoma does not seem to alter the evolution of gestation, whereas patients with advanced stages of melanoma frequently deliver prematurely, by caesarean section, with lower neonatal weight, higher neonatal morbidity and mortality rates.

Treatment of metastatic malignant melanoma during pregnancy with a BRAF kinase inhibitor: A case report

“…Malignancy during pregnancy poses both medical and ethical dilemmas. The incidence of melanoma is increasing and one-third of women affected are of child-bearing age [1,2]. Many treatments for advanced-stage disease have not been studied in pregnancy.…”

“…Although it is rare, melanoma is the most common cancer to metastasize to the placenta and fetus. The incidence of melanoma in the general population is increasing and approximately one-third of women diagnosed with melanoma are of child-bearing age [1,2].…”

“…From the 1950s to 1980s, several case reports, case control studies and large population-based cohort studies suggested that pregnancy-associated melanoma may lead to worse maternal outcomes and decreased survival; however, these studies did not take account of a sufficient array of prognostic factors to include an examination of stage of disease [1,2]. A recent population-based Swedish study compared cause-based mortality among women with pregnancy-associated melanoma with that of women diagnosed with melanoma not associated with pregnancy and found no difference after adjustment for prognostic factors [1].…”

Comment on “Maternal and perinatal outcomes in pregnancy-associated melanoma. Report of two cases and a systematic literature review”

“…Dear Editors, we read with interest the recently double case report and systematic literature review on the maternal and perinatal outcomes in pregnancy-associated melanoma by Mendizábal et al, in the European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology [1].…”

“…We therefore completely agree that care for these patients must be done in a multidisciplinary setting where regular evaluation of individualized care is the key focus. In their conclusion they state that "due to the growing incidence of malignancies during pregnancy, it would be interesting to create an international database in order to minimize differences in the recorded data, to compare the treatments used and to evaluate globally the evolution of the malignancies and the obstetric and maternoperinatal outcomes" [1].…”