title: Pregnancy and breast cancer: a population-based study.
abstract: The incidence of pregnancy-associated breast cancer, i.e. during pregnancy and lactation, and of pregnancy subsequent to a breast-cancer diagnosis will increase as more women choose childbearing at a later age. Few larger series are published on pregnancy-associated breast cancer. In a population-based study, we evaluated the outcome and prognostic factors in 173 breast-cancer patients. One hundred and twenty-two patients had pregnancy-associated breast cancer (20 coincident with pregnancy and 102 during lactation) and 51 patients had pregnancy subsequent to breast cancer. The median follow-up time was 151 months. Histopathological parameters and immunoreactivity for oestrogen and progesterone receptors c-erbB-2 and c-erbB-4 were studied. All three groups had tumours with high histological grade, low frequency of hormone receptors and high expression of c-erbB-2. The pregnancy and lactation groups were near identical with regard to all histopathological parameters and outcome. In the two pregnancy-associated breast-cancer groups, tumours were significantly larger, with more extensive lymph-node involvement. For node-negative tumours the respective 5- and 10-year survival rates were 62% and 50% in the pregnancy group and 60% and 50% in the lactation group. For node-positive tumours, respective 5- and 10-year survival rates were 50% and 34% in the pregnancy group and 50% and 33% in the lactation group. In the subsequent group, overall survival was high in both node-negative and -positive groups, with 5- and 10-year survival rates of 80% and 73% and 86% and 76%, respectively. Tumour size, lymph-node status, histological grade, progesterone receptor, oestrogen receptor and c-erbB-2 were significant prognostic factors in the pregnancy-associated breast-cancer patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, The Norwegian Radium Hospital, University of Oslo, Norway. wenchere@ulrik.uio.no
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Reed
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hannisdal
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Skovlund
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Thoresen
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lilleng
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Nesland
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000556:secondary; D000328:Adult; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D066246:ErbB Receptors / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007774:Lactation; D008875:Middle Aged; D009664:Norway / Q000453:epidemiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011252:Pregnancy Complications, Neoplastic / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D011379:Prognosis; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D066247:Receptor, ErbB-4; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen / Q000378:metabolism; D011980:Receptors, Progesterone / Q000378:metabolism; D012042:Registries; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D066246:ErbB Receptors; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; D066247:Receptor, ErbB-4; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen; D011980:Receptors, Progesterone; C587689:ERBB4 protein, human