Childhood cancer treatment may affect future pregnancy

Women who received pelvic radiation therapy to treat childhood cancer have an increased risk of delivering a baby with low birth weight, according to a Jan 20, 2003, article from the American Cancer Society. Women who received chemotherapy to treat childhood cancer, however, were not found to have treatment-related problems with pregnancy.

Researchers from Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY, reviewed medical records and pregnancy outcomes of 1,915 female cancer survivors who experienced a total of 4,029 pregnancies. The women were younger than 21 years of age when cancer was diagnosed between the years of 1970 and 1986. Participants were asked questions regarding attempts to become pregnant, the occurrence of pregnancy, their age at the time of each pregnancy, the duration of each pregnancy, and the outcome of each pregnancy.

Researchers found that childhood cancer survivors, with the exception of those who were treated for central nervous system tumors, were not more likely to have miscarriages or stillbirths. Those women who received chemotherapy were as likely to have a normal, live delivery as women who have not undergone cancer treatment. Women who received pelvic radiation therapy, however, were more likely to deliver babies weighing less that 5.5 lbs.

The survival rate of children with cancer has improved dramatically during the past 20 years. As those patients reach adulthood, they should be aware of the possible effects of cancer treatment on their fertility and the health of their children. Childhood cancer survivors and their physicians should be aware of these issues when guiding a pregnancy to term.

"Radiation for Childhood Cancer May Affect Future Pregnancies," ACS News Center (Jan 20, 2003) http:// www.cancer.org/docroot/NWS/content/NWS_2_1x_ Radiation_For_Childhood_Cancer_May_Affect_Future_ Pregnancies. asp (accessed 21 Jan 2003).

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