Pregnancy associated breast cancer eludes timely diagnosis

Atlanta, February 9: A new study reveals that young women who develop breast cancerdefine during pregnancy are less likely to be diagnosed for the condition on time.

The researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancerdefine Center conducted a study to analyze the breast cancer in pregnant women. The researchers reviewed the data of 652 breast cancer patients including 104 Pregnancy Associated Breast Cancer (PABC) patients ages 35 and younger. Of PABC patients, 51 developed the cancer during pregnancy and 53 developed the disease within a year after. The researchers found no difference in the rates of local recurrence, metastasis and overall survival between PABC participants and non-PABC participants. However, pregnancy contributed to a delay in the diagnosis, evaluation and treatment of breast cancer.

Beth Beadle, M.D., a radiationdefine oncology resident at M. D. Anderson and the study's first author said, "What we did find, however, is that women with PABC presented with more advanced disease, both in the breast and lymph nodesdefine. These women seem to have a significant delay in diagnosis, and their symptoms were not identified as breast cancer for an extended period of time - putting them at a disadvantage by withholding necessary treatment."

The researchers also found that in PABC patients, treatment during pregnancy improves survival than treatment after delivery.

The senior author of the study, George Perkins, M.D. and associate professor in M. D. Anderson's Department of Radiation Oncology said, “Women really need to be aware of changes to their breasts that persist, even during pregnancy and to discuss these changes immediately with their doctor.”

Perkins further said, "The study proves that there's a vital opportunity for physicians to focus on complete breast care during a patient's pregnancy, and should include cancer as a possible diagnosis. Persistent complaints should be monitored aggressively, with breast exams, imaging and biopsy, all being conducted as necessary."

Breast cancer in young women is a highly aggressive disease; approximately 10 percent of breast cancer patients under 40 develop the disease during pregnancy. "It's important that we study it in hopes of making a difference in terms of treatment," the researchers concluded.

The study is published in the journal Cancer.