Birthing dilemma: Does cancer affect later pregnancy outcomes?

Female survivors of certain types of cancer have higher risks of poor outcomes in pregnancies conceived after diagnosis than women without cancer, according to a recent study.

According to a recent study, female survivors of certain types of cancer have higher risks of poor outcomes in pregnancies conceived after diagnosis than women without cancer.

In the study, diagnoses from cancer registries were linked to pregnancy outcomes from birth certificates in three US states. (Shutterstock)

In the study, diagnoses from cancer registries were linked to pregnancy outcomes from birth certificates in three US states. Cervical cancer survivors had higher risks of preterm birth, as did survivors of invasive breast cancer and leukemia.

Investigators observed a higher risk of small for gestational age infants (<10% of weight for age based on a national distribution) in survivors of brain cancer and extranodal non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

They did not see an increased risk of infants born preterm, low birth weight, or small for gestational age in pregnancies conceived after ductal carcinoma in situ, thyroid cancer, melanoma, or Hodgkin lymphoma. The study has been published in International Journal of Cancer.

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