Research table: Having a child after breast cancer treatment and survival

This summary table contains detailed information about research studies. Summary tables are a useful way to look at the science behind many breast cancer guidelines and recommendations. However, to get the most out of the tables, it’s important to understand some key concepts. Learn how to read a research table.

Introduction: Having a child after completing breast cancer treatment doesn’t appear to be linked to worse survival for women.

Some studies show women who have a child after breast cancer treatment have better overall survival than women who don’t have a child after treatment [1-4].

Women who become pregnant after completing treatment for breast cancer may be healthier than those who don’t get pregnant [3]. So, findings from studies on this topic may be limited to these healthier women.

Learn more about having a child after breast cancer treatment.

Learn about the strengths and weaknesses of different types of studies.

Study selection criteria: Cohort studies and case-control studies with more than 100 women who had been treated for breast cancer, and meta-analyses.

Study	Study Population (number of participants)		Was Survival Worse for Women who Had a Child after Breast Cancer Treatment (compared to those who did not have a child)?  Yes / No
Cohort studies
Taiwan Cancer Registry study [6]	30,230		No
Rauh-Hain et al. [7]	31,021		No
Kroman et al. [1]	10,236		No
Iqbal et al. [2]	6,028		No
Anderson et al. [5]	5,181		No
Mueller et al. [8]	3,223		No
Lambertini et al. [9]	1,252*		No
Largillier et al. [10]	893		No
Blakely et al. [11]	370		No
Case-control studies
	Cases	Controls
Verkooijen et al. [12]	492	8,529	No
Lambertini et al. [13]	333	874	No
Kranick et al. [14]	107	344	No
Meta-analyses
Hartman and Eslick [3]	17 studies		No
Azim et al. [15]	14 studies		No
Lambertini et al. [4]	11 studies		No

*All the women in the study had a BRCA1 or BRCA2 inherited gene mutation.  

References 

1. Kroman N, Jensen MB, Wohlfahrt J, Ejlertsen B. Pregnancy after treatment of breast cancer–a population-based study on behalf of Danish Breast Cancer Cooperative Group. Acta Oncol. 47(4):545-9, 2008.
2. Iqbal J, Amir E, Rochon PA, Giannakeas V, Sun P, Narod SA. Association of the timing of pregnancy with survival in women with breast cancer. JAMA Oncol. 2017 May 1;3(5):659-665, 2017.
3. Hartman EK, Eslick GD. The prognosis of women diagnosed with breast cancer before, during and after pregnancy: a meta-analysis. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 160(2):347-360, 2016.
4. Lambertini M, Blondeaux E, Bruzzone M, et al. Pregnancy after breast cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Clin Oncol. 39(29):3293-3305, 2021.
5. Anderson RA, Lambertini M, Hall PS, Wallace WH, Morrison DS, Kelsey TW. Survival after breast cancer in women with a subsequent live birth: Influence of age at diagnosis and interval to subsequent pregnancy. Eur J Cancer. 173:113-122, 2022.
6. Chuang SC, Lin CH, Lu YS, Hsiung CA. Association of pregnancy and mortality in women diagnosed with breast cancer: a nationwide population based study in Taiwan. Int J Cancer. 143(10):2416-2424, 2018.
7. Rauh-Hain JA, Zubizarreta J, Nitecki R, et al. Survival outcomes following pregnancy or assisted reproductive technologies after breast cancer: A population-based study. Cancer. 128(17):3243-3253, 2022.
8. Mueller BA, Simon MS, Deapen D, et al. Childbearing and survival after breast carcinoma in young women. Cancer. 98(6): 1131-40, 2003.
9. Lambertini M, Ameye L, Hamy AS, et al. Pregnancy after breast cancer in patients with germline BRCA mutations. J Clin Oncol. 38(26):3012-3023, 2020.
10. Largillier R, Savignoni A, Gligorov J, et al. for the GET(N)A Group. Prognostic role of pregnancy occurring before or after treatment of early breast cancer patients aged <35 years: a GET(N)A Working Group analysis. Cancer. 115(22):5155-5165, 2009.
11. Blakely LJ, Buzdarm AU, Lozada JA, et al. Effects of Pregnancy after treatment for breast carcinoma on survival and risk of recurrence. Cancer. 100(3):465-9, 2004.
12. Verkooijen HM, Lim GH, Czene K, et al. Effect of childbirth after treatment on long-term survival from breast cancer. Br J Surg. 97(8):1253-9, 2010.
13. Lambertini M, Kroman N, Ameye L, et al. Long-term safety of pregnancy following breast cancer according to estrogen receptor status. J Natl Cancer Inst. 110(4):426-429, 2018.
14. Kranick JA, Schaefer C, Rowell S, et al. Is pregnancy after breast cancer safe? Breast J. 16(4):404-11, 2010.
15. Azim HA Jr, Santoro L, Pavlidis N, et al. Safety of pregnancy following breast cancer diagnosis: a meta-analysis of 14 studies. Eur J Cancer. 47(1):74-83, 2011.   

Updated 04/19/23