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Review
. 2016 Jul;7(4):559-63.
doi: 10.1016/j.jare.2016.01.004. Epub 2016 Feb 9.

A mini review on pregnant mothers with cancer: A paradoxical coexistence

Sotirios Mitrou  1 , George Zarkavelis  2 , George Fotopoulos  2 , Dimitrios Petrakis  2 , Nicholas Pavlidis  1
Affiliations
Review

A mini review on pregnant mothers with cancer: A paradoxical coexistence

Sotirios Mitrou et al. J Adv Res. 2016 Jul.

Abstract

The diagnosis of cancer during pregnancy at least in the Western world is a rare phenomenon, but this might be raised into the future due to late pregnancies in the modern societies. The coexistence of pregnancy and cancer implicates numerous medical, ethical, psychological and sometimes religious issues between the mother, the family and the treating physician. Breast, cervical cancer, melanoma and lymphoma are the most common malignancies diagnosed during pregnancy. Diagnostic or therapeutic irradiation requires careful application, whereas systemic chemotherapy is not allowed during the first trimester of pregnancy due to lethal or teratogenic effects as well as to congenital malformations. In some gestational cancers, tumor cells can invade the placenta or the fetus.

Keywords: Cancer; Diagnosis; Pregnancy; Staging; Treatment.

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