Published: 14-09-2009 00:00 | Updated: 26-11-2013 10:29

Breast cancer during pregnancy more common

A breast cancer diagnosis coinciding with pregnancy represents a clinical dilemma by posing extremely difficult questions to the caregiver, the patient and her family. A new study from Karolinska Institutet published in the latest issue of journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, now show that the incidence of pregnancy-associated breast cancer (PABC) has increased in Sweden in the last decades.

Mats LambePhoto: Gunilla Sonnebring

The reason for this increased incidence is partly due to delayed childbearing, according to the research team. The findings also suggest that breast cancer is under-diagnosed during pregnancy and lactation. An increased awareness of PABC improves the clinical management of these young breast cancer patients, for example by avoiding undue delays in diagnosis and treatment.

Publication

Therese M-L Andersson, Anna Johansson, Chung-Cheng Hsieh, Sven Cnattingius, Mats Lambe

Increasing Incidence of Pregnancy-Associated Breast Cancer in Sweden

Obstetrics & Gynecology, September 2009, Volume 114; Issue 3; pp 568-572, doi: 10.1097/AOG.0b013e3181b19154

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