RT Book, Section
A1 Greene, Michael F.
A1 Longo, Dan L.
A2 Longo, Dan L.
SR Print(0)
ID 1135228924
T1 Neoplasia During Pregnancy
T2 Harrison's Hematology and Oncology, 3e
YR 2016
FD 2016
PB McGraw-Hill Education
PP New York, NY
SN 9781259835834
LK accessbiomedicalscience.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1135228924
RD 2024/04/20
AB Cancer  complicates  ~1  in  every  1000  pregnancies.  Of  all  the  cancers  that  occur  in  women,  less  than  1%  complicate  pregnancies.  The  four  cancers  that  most  commonly  complicate  pregnancies  are  cervical  cancer,  breast  cancer,  melanoma,  and  lymphomas  (particularly  Hodgkin’s  lymphoma);  however,  virtually  every  form  of  cancer  has  been  reported  in  pregnant  women  (Table  32-1).  In  addition  to  cancers  developing  in  other  organs  of  the  mother,  gestational  trophoblastic  tumors  can  arise  from  the  placenta.  The  problem  of  cancer  in  a  pregnant  woman  is  complex.  One  must  take  into  account  (1)  the  possible  influence  of  the  pregnancy  on  the  natural  history  of  the  cancer,  (2)  effects  on  the  mother  and  fetus  of  complications  from  the  malignancy  (e.g.,  anorexia,  nausea,  vomiting,  malnutrition),  (3)  potential  effects  of  diagnostic  and  staging  procedures,  and  (4)  potential  effects  of  cancer  treatments  on  both  the  mother  and  the  developing  fetus.  Generally,  the  management  that  optimizes  maternal  physiology  is  also  best  for  the  fetus.  However,  the  dilemma  occasionally  arises  that  what  is  best  for  the  mother  may  be  harmful  to  the  fetus,  and  what  is  best  for  the  fetus  may  compromise  the  ultimate  prognosis  for  the  mother.  The  best  way  to  approach  management  of  a  pregnant  woman  with  cancer  is  to  ask,  “What  would  we  do  for  this  woman  in  this  clinical  situation  if  she  was  not  pregnant?  Now,  which,  if  any,  of  those  plans  need  to  be  modified  because  she  is  pregnant?”