title: Pregnancy does not increase the local recurrence rate after surgical resection of desmoid-type fibromatosis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Pregnancy has been reported as a risk factor for promoting growth and progression of desmoid-type fibromatosis because of the presumed role of estrogens in stimulating desmoid growth. In this study, the clinical outcomes of females who were pregnant 5 years or less before resection of desmoid tumor or who became pregnant after resection were compared to nulliparous females or females who were pregnant more than 5 years before resection.
  
  
  METHODS
  Obstetric histories of desmoid tumor patients were abstracted from medical records. Patients were grouped by pregnancy status as either: pregnancy-associated (pregnant up to 5 years before primary desmoid tumor resection or pregnant after resection) or not pregnancy-associated (nulliparous or pregnant more than 5 years before resection of desmoid tumor). Cox proportional hazards regression was used to evaluate pregnancy status as a predictor of desmoid tumor recurrence.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 15 females who had pregnancy-associated desmoids (33%) and 31 females who had non-pregnancy-associated desmoids (67%). There were no differences in clinicopathologic features or recurrence-free survival between females of different pregnancy status in univariate or multivariate survival analyses.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Recurrence-free survival rates among women recently pregnant before or pregnant after resection of desmoid tumor and nulliparous women or those with a remote history of pregnancy are comparable after adjusting for patient age, anatomic location, and completeness of surgical resection. Subsequent pregnancy should not be discouraged for reproductive-aged women after resection of desmoid-type fibromatosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Medical Center North, CC-3322, 1161 21st Ave. South, Nashville, TN, 37232, USA, justin.m.cates@vanderbilt.edu.
authors.forename: Justin M M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Cates
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D018222:Desmoid Tumors / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011252:Pregnancy Complications, Neoplastic / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011379:Prognosis; D012307:Risk Factors; D055815:Young Adult