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ENTRA2 IM CANCER MAMA 2020Institut Marquès achieves a pregnancy rate of 82% in women who have successfully completed cancer treatment

Our results show that seven out of ten oncologic patients have become mothers in less than two years without increasing the risk of cancer being reproduced

Coinciding with Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Institut Marquès presents the results of its Oncology and Reproductive Medicine Unit, whose goal is to advise patients that have suffered of cancer about their chances of becoming a mother once the oncologic treatment is completed. 89% of the patients evaluated by our specialized Unit were considered fit to start a reproductive process. 82% of them have achieved a pregnancy through different treatments and 7 out of 10 have become mothers in less than two years since their consultation.

Dr Àlex García-Faura, gynaecologist and Director of the above-mentioned specialised Unit, says: Many of these women will be able to have a child if they have already successfully completed chemotherapy, radiotherapy or surgery, but it is essential that their case be studied by a multidisciplinary team like ours. Only in this way can we claim that being a mother after cancer is safe”. Therefore, our team is made up of experts from different specialties, which after analysing the specific case of the patient, decide the reproductive treatment to follow and the appropriate time to carry it out.

“The need to preserve fertility in Oncology patients is increasing, as the incidence of cancer in women of reproductive age has increased in recent years due to delayed motherhood. In addition, the survival rate of these diseases is also on the rise, with an index of 85% in women under 50”, adds Dr García-Faura.

Most of the patients suffered from Breast Cancer

This multidisciplinary evaluation helps these patients become mothers without increasing the risk of recurrence of the disease. For the time being, the Board of Institut Marquès has carried out a two-year follow-up of oncologic patients who achieved pregnancy. All of them are still healthy.

The treatments carried out were: In Vitro Fertilisation (3,9%), Embryo Donation (11,7%) and Donor Egg IVF (84%). The average age of these patients is 40 years old and the most common cancer type is breast cancer (35%), followed by hematologic ones, such as leukaemia or lymphoma (29%) and ovarian cancer (14%). By the time they seek advice to become mothers, an average of 8 years have elapsed since they were diagnosed with cancer.

Unfinished cancer treatment, age (over 50 years) or suffering from morbid obesity are the main reasons for all patients not having been able to start a reproductive process (10% of the women evaluated).

In case of refusal of reproductive treatment, the patient is informed of the diagnostic tests or cancer treatments to undergo before being able to re-apply for trying to become pregnant again.

To date, in most cases motherhood is discouraged for women who have had cancer

Only 10% of the women that started a reproductive treatment had had their eggs frozen before undergoing oncology treatment. “Despite the advances, when faced with a cancer diagnosis, it is often forgotten that in the future the patient may want to be a mother,” says Dr Àlex García-Faura. “In addition, both the medical teams and the closest environment to the patient often focus on the risks of disease recurrence. However, our experience shows that, if the previous evaluation approves it, the risks are simply those of any pregnancy”, explains the gynaecologist