[Breast cancer and pregnancy: about 15 cases collected at the maternity center Monastir, Tunisia].

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to describe the clinical, radiological, histological and therapeutic features of breast cancer diagnosed during pregnancy. We performed a review of all medical records of patients with breast cancer diagnosed during pregnancy in the Maternity and Neonatal Center, Monastir-Tunisia, over the period 2004-2019. We collected data on 15 cases. The average age of patients was 34 years; most pregnancy-associated breast cancers (PABCs) had been diagnosed during the postpartum period. Invasive ductal carcinoma was the major histological type (93% of cases), a rare case of secretory breast carcinoma had been observed. The main clinical stages were T2 and T4 breast cancer. Hormone receptor (HR)-negative breast cancers had been reported in 40% of cases, HER2-positive breast cancers in 26.6% of cases. Treatment included surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and palliative chemotherapy. The median overall survival was 32.2 months. Pregnancy-associated breast cancer is a rare entity. Patients prognosis is generally poor due to the young age at onset and a usually delayed diagnosis. Patients should participate in therapeutic decision making, which is difficult and multidisciplinary. Targeted therapy is the great hope for new therapies.