Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2020 Dec 23:10:580345.
doi: 10.3389/fonc.2020.580345. eCollection 2020.

Breast Cancer During Pregnancy: A Marked Propensity to Triple-Negative Phenotype

Soumaya Allouch  1 , Ishita Gupta  1   2 , Shaza Malik  1 , Halema F Al Farsi  1 , Semir Vranic  1 , Ala-Eddin Al Moustafa  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Breast Cancer During Pregnancy: A Marked Propensity to Triple-Negative Phenotype

Soumaya Allouch et al. Front Oncol. .

Abstract

Breast and cervical cancers comprise 50% of all cancers during pregnancy. In particular, gestational breast cancer is considered one of the most aggressive types of cancers, which is a rare but fatal disease. However, the incidence of this type of cancer is increasing over the years and its prevalence is expected to rise further as more women delay childbearing. Breast cancer occurring after pregnancy is generally triple negative with specific characterizations of a poorer prognosis and outcome. On the other hand, it has been pointed out that this cancer is associated with a specific group of genes which can be used as precise targets to manage this deadly disease. Indeed, combination therapies consisting of gene-based agents with other cancer therapeutics is presently under consideration. We herein review recent progress in understanding the development of breast cancer during pregnancy and their unique subtype of triple negative which is the hallmark of this type of breast cancer.

Keywords: breast cancer; delayed childbearing; gene deregulation; pregnancy; triple-negative.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Molecular pathways in pregnancy-associated breast cancer (PABC). Schematic diagram showing various pathways that are involved in the onset and progression of PABC.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. W. H. O. (WHO) Breast Cancer. Geneva, Switzerland: WHO; (2020).
    1. Tao Z, Shi A, Lu C, Song T, Zhang Z, Zhao J. Breast Cancer: Epidemiology and Etiology. Cell Biochem Biophys (2015) 72(2):333–8. 10.1007/s12013-014-0459-6 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Tamimi RM, Colditz GA, Hazra A, Baer HJ, Hankinson SE, Rosner B, et al. Traditional breast cancer risk factors in relation to molecular subtypes of breast cancer. Breast Cancer Res Treat (2012) 131(1):159–67. 10.1007/s10549-011-1702-0 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Perou CM, Sørlie T, Eisen MB, van de Rijn M, Jeffrey SS, Rees CA, et al. Molecular portraits of human breast tumours. Nature (2000) 406(6797):747–52. 10.1038/35021093 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Koboldt DC, Fulton RS, McLellan MD, Schmidt H, Kalicki-Veizer J, McMichael JF, et al. Comprehensive molecular portraits of human breast tumours. Nature (2012) 490(7418):61–70. 10.1038/nature11412 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources