Retrospective study of maternal and fetal outcomes of pregnancy-associated breast cancer

The incidence of pregnancy-associated breast cancer appears to be rising, likely due to the increasing propensity for women to delay childbirth. A retrospective observational study in Ireland examined maternal and fetal outcomes of pregnancy-associated breast cancer. The median age of the patients was 36 years. Twenty-eight percent presented with stage III disease and 16% with metastatic disease. There were high rates of TNBC (25%) and HER2-positive (30%) disease. Compared to an age-matched breast cancer population the five-year OS rate was worse among PABC patients, both in stage I-III (90.9% versus 77.6%) and stage IV (38.3% versus 18%). There was a low rate of foetal complications (3%).