Cancer And Fertility

After surgery for breast cancer and after the end of treatments, a woman can have a child, even women with BRCA gene mutations. Pregnancy after breast cancer is not responsible in case of possible recurrence.

This was shown by research carried out by the IRCCS Policlinico San Martino of Genoa, presented at the ASCO (Society of Clinical Oncology) conference. The research was carried out with the support of the Fondazione Umberto Veronesi and with the participation of 1252 patients under the age of 40 with a BRCA mutation (811 BRCA1 , 430 BRCA2, 11 BRCA 1 and BRCA2) and diagnosed with breast cancer (stage I-II) on period 2000-2012. 16% of women became pregnant after the treatments ended. The 8-year follow-up showed that there was no difference in prognosis between women who had a child and those who did not. The children born were healthy. The message is clear: “Having a child after finishing treatments is possible.”

A woman with breast cancer can perform egg freezing before treatments. Freezing is done after hormonal stimulation of the ovaries and the eggs are harvested and frozen at a very low temperature. When pregnancy is desired, the eggs are defrosted and fertilized by the sperm of the partner or sperm donor. The pregnancy rate is high.