Women's post-chemotherapy parity is affected by offspring number and marital status

Abstract

Childbearing rates post-chemotherapy for breast cancer (BC) are affected by age and chemotherapy-type but may also depend on personal characteristics. In this single institution retrospective study we evaluated post-chemotherapy fertility and its association with offspring number and marital-status at the time of BC diagnosis. We identified 65 fertile BC patients under 38y, who received adjuvant-chemotherapy. Menses resumption and pregnancies along with offspring-number and marital-status were recorded. Menses resumed in 95.4% and 33.8% gave birth. Of those who did not give birth 46.5% had at least three children at diagnosis and of those without children 83% were unmarried. Our data associates multiparity with lower childbearing post-chemotherapy, suggesting it as a possible surrogate for women's preferences in retrospective studies. Unlike multiparity, marital status association with lower childbearing may be culture-dependent and not a universal surrogate for women's intentions and would be best investigated prospectively.