Korean J Obstet Gynecol.
2004 Sep;47(9):1800-1804.
A Case of Rapid Growing Breast Cancer Associated with Pregnancy
- Affiliations
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- 1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine, Kosin University, Busan, Korea.
- 2Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, Kosin University, Busan, Korea.
Abstract
- Pregnancy associated breast cancer is defined as breast cancer diagnosed during pregnancy or in the 12 months postpartum. The incidence is one of the most common carcinomas and approximately 1 in 3,000 pregnancies in the United States. Pregnant women are at a higher risk of presenting with more advanced disease than nonpregnant women since small lumps cannot be easily detected due to the natural tenderness and engorgement of the breasts during pregnancy and lactation. Average diagnosis delays of 5 to 7 months are reported. The prognosis is thought not to be significantly different from non-pregnancy associated breast cancer, except in cases where a delay in diagnosis is associated with more advanced disease. Therefore breast cancer is no evidence to implicate pregnancy or lactation in either the etiology and the progression. The strategies for therapeutic management of breast cancer associated pregnancy are mainly dependent on early diagnosis and the stage with gestational age. We experienced a patient who underwent a modified radical mastectomy and adjuvant chemotherapy due to rapid growing breast cancer in pregnant. We report this case with a brief review of literature.
