Impact of pregnancy on cancer survival: Experience at a tertiary care hospital

OBJECTIVES: To assess the overall survival of pregnant women diagnosed with cancer during pregnancy or became pregnant thereafter. METHODS: A retrospective medical record review of 90 patients who were diagnosed with cancer when pregnant or who became pregnant thereafter between 1996 and 2015 in Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi. RESULTS: A total of 90 patients were analyzed. The malignancies that expectant mothers had were, breast cancer 38 (42.2%), hematological cancers 29 (32.2%), brain cancer 10 (11.1%), and other malignancies 13 (14.4%) that included thyroid cancers, gestational trophoblastic disease and synovial tumor of foot. We observed only four deaths out of 90 patients and mean survival time in pregnant patients with malignancies was 17.98 years [CI 16.35-19.31]. CONCLUSIONS: The diagnosis of most cancer types before or during pregnancy does not influence on overall survival of patients.