Cancer During Pregnancy: The Oncologist Overview

World J Oncol. 2019 Feb;10(1):28-34. doi: 10.14740/wjon1177. Epub 2019 Feb 26.

Abstract

Although a rare and challenging condition, cancer during pregnancy should promptly be identified and treated. Not only standards of care guidelines for the underlying disease are taken into account, but also fetal safety might be weighted for clinical decisions. Frequent lack of experience and knowledge about this condition could lead to late diagnosis, imprecise management, suboptimal treatment and fetal and maternal harm. Therefore, this review aims to summarize the current evidence regarding the epidemiology, clinical presentation, diagnostic workup, staging and treatment, including novel treatment modalities for patients diagnosed with cancer during pregnancy.

Keywords: Cancer; Chemotherapy; Fetus; Immunotherapy; Pregnancy; Radiotherapy; Surgery; Targeted therapy.

Publication types

  • Review