Pregnancy risks after breast cancer probed

An international cancer trial has opened in Ireland investigating the risks for young women who had breast cancer becoming pregnant.

The reason there is a risk is because, one of the main hormone treatment therapies women are placed on after a diagnosis, can have adverse side-effects on a foetus.

Furthermore, women will have to come off their hormone treatment in order to attempt becoming pregnant.

This study will be the first of its kind in the world.

Cancer Trials Ireland is co-ordinating the study here. There are a total of 19 countries taking part and 500 patients internationally.

Thirty women will take part in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Waterford and Galway, once they fit the very specific criteria for the trial.

Consultant medical oncologist Dr Cathy Kelly is leading the study here.

“It’ll mostly be women (on the trial) who have a good risk profile,” she told the Irish Examiner.

In terms of the risk involved Dr Kelly said that it will depend on the situation of each candidate.

“It’ll vary with each woman depending on when she was diagnosed,” she said.

“The whole reason for the study is to see the risk,” she added.

Young women who have had early stage breast cancer can need ongoing hormone treatment for five to 10 years.

Participants in this study have to be 42 years old or younger, have had early stage breast cancer, completed 18 to 30 months of hormone treatment and want to have a baby.

They will have to interrupt their treatment for a maximum of two years, during which time they will attempt to conceive.

Dr Kelly said that for the trial their therapy will be stopped with a view to going back on it (after pregnancy) in a structured way.

“There is no actual intervention in the trial, it is a study, we will track women,” she added.

The only other information on the risk associated with becoming pregnant after breast cancer was done retrospectively, where women who came off treatment to become pregnant, were studied.

This will be the first time that “real time” scientific evidence will be gathered to investigate the risk.

Hospitals in Ireland participating in the trials include the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, Mater Private Hospital, St Vincent’s University Hospital, St James’s Hospital, University Hospital Galway, University Hospital Limerick, University Hospital Waterford and Cork University Hospital.

When a woman meets the set criteria for the trial they will need to take a three-month break in treatment before attempting to get pregnant, take a period of up to two years as a break from treatment to allow for conception, delivery and breastfeeding and then resume treatment and complete a full duration of hormone therapy.

Participants will need to be enrolled in the programme for four years and the study will take approximately 14 years to be completed.

Women interested in partaking should first contact their oncologist. More information is available at cancertrials.ie