Grossesse après cancer du sein : mise à jour des connaissances en 2012

Breast cancers account for one third of cancer patients of childbearing age. Given the trend for women to delay childbearing, many of them will not fulfill their parental project at diagnosis of a potential breast cancer. Thus, planning pregnancies in young patients with a history of breast cancer is increasingly becoming a common situation. In this difficult context, several issues have to be discussed with the patient, such as post-chemotherapy premature ovarian failure, fertility-sparing techniques, risk of cancer recurrence or optimal time between cancer and future pregnancy. Potential obstetrical complications, long-term teratogenicity of anti-cancer drugs or breast-feeding are another points that have to be discussed with the patient and her husband. The aim of this updated review of literature was to provide answers to the numerous questions that may be encountered in this type of highly difficult situation. Thus, planning a pregnancy in breast cancer patients seems to be possible with, in one hand, a multidisciplinary approach in order to answer different questions and to avoid side effects of chemotherapy. In the other hand, a close and specialized obstetrical monitoring should be proposed in order to anticipate potential obstetrical complications.