乳腺癌是一种在乳腺组织中形成恶性(癌)细胞的疾病。
乳房由腺叶和导管组成。每个乳房有15到20个腺叶。每个腺叶都有许多乳小叶。乳小叶的末端有几十个可以制造乳汁的腺泡。腺叶、乳小叶和腺泡由称为导管的细管连接。
每个乳房也有血管和淋巴管。淋巴管携带一种几乎无色的水状液体,叫做淋巴。淋巴管在淋巴结之间运送淋巴。淋巴结是遍布全身的豆状大小结构。它们过滤淋巴,储存有助于抵抗感染和疾病的白细胞。在腋窝(腋下)、锁骨上方和胸部的乳房附近都存在多组淋巴结。
有时乳腺癌发生在怀孕或刚刚分娩的妇女身上。
乳腺癌大约每3000次怀孕发生一次。最常见于32至38岁的女性。由于许多妇女选择推迟生育,怀孕期间新发乳腺癌病例的数量将会增加。
乳腺癌的症状包括乳房肿块或乳房中的其他改变。
这些和其他症状可能是由乳腺癌或其他疾病引起的。如果您有下列情况,请咨询您的医生:
孕妇或哺乳期妇女可能很难早期发现乳腺癌。
在怀孕、哺乳或刚刚分娩的妇女中,乳房通常会变大、变软或有团块状。这是因为正常的荷尔蒙变化发生在怀孕期间。这些变化会使小肿块难以检测。乳房也可能变得更致密。在乳房致密的女性中,用乳房X光检查更难发现乳腺癌。因为这些乳房改变会延迟诊断,这些妇女通常在较晚的阶段发现乳腺癌。
乳房检查应该是产前和产后护理的一部分。
为了检测乳腺癌,孕妇和哺乳期妇女应该自己检查乳房。妇女还应定期在产前和产后接受临床乳房检查。如果你发现你的乳房有任何你不期望或担心的变化,就及时告诉医生。
检查乳房的测试用于检测(发现)和诊断乳腺癌。
可采用以下试验和程序:
有三种类型的乳腺活检:
如果发现了癌症,就要做检测来研究癌细胞。
关于最佳治疗的决定是基于这些测试的结果和未出生婴儿的月龄。测试提供以下信息:
测试可能包括以下内容:
某些因素影响预后(康复的几率)和治疗选择。
预后(康复的几率)和治疗方案取决于以下因素:
Breast cancer is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the breast.
The breast is made up of lobes and ducts. Each breast has 15 to 20 sections called lobes. Each lobe has many smaller sections called lobules. Lobules end in dozens of tiny bulbs that can make milk. The lobes, lobules, and bulbs are linked by thin tubes called ducts.
Each breast also has blood vessels and lymph vessels. The lymph vessels carry an almost colorless, watery fluid called lymph. Lymph vessels carry lymph between lymph nodes. Lymph nodes are small, bean-shaped structures found throughout the body. They filter lymph and store white blood cells that help fight infection and disease. Groups of lymph nodes are found near the breast in the axilla (under the arm), above the collarbone, and in the chest.
Sometimes breast cancer occurs in women who are pregnant or have just given birth.
Breast cancer occurs about once in every 3,000 pregnancies. It occurs most often in women aged 32 to 38 years. Because many women are choosing to delay having children, it is likely that the number of new cases of breast cancer during pregnancy will increase.
Signs of breast cancer include a lump or change in the breast.
These and other signs may be caused by breast cancer or by other conditions. Check with your doctor if you have any of the following:
It may be difficult to detect (find) breast cancer early in pregnant or nursing women.
The breasts usually get larger, tender, or lumpy in women who are pregnant, nursing, or have just given birth. This occurs because of normal hormone changes that take place during pregnancy. These changes can make small lumps difficult to detect. The breasts may also become denser. It is more difficult to detect breast cancer in women with dense breasts using mammography. Because these breast changes can delay diagnosis, breast cancer is often found at a later stage in these women.
Breast exams should be part of prenatal and postnatal care.
To detect breast cancer, pregnant and nursing women should examine their breasts themselves. Women should also receive clinical breast exams during their regular prenatal and postnatal check-ups. Talk to your doctor if you notice any changes in your breasts that you do not expect or that worry you.
Tests that examine the breasts are used to detect (find) and diagnose breast cancer.
The following tests and procedures may be used:
There are three types of breast biopsies:
If cancer is found, tests are done to study the cancer cells.
Decisions about the best treatment are based on the results of these tests and the age of the unborn baby. The tests give information about:
Tests may include the following:
Certain factors affect prognosis (chance of recovery) and treatment options.
The prognosis (chance of recovery) and treatment options depend on the following:
乳腺癌被诊断出来后,就要进行检测,以确定癌细胞是否已经扩散到乳腺或身体的其他部位。
查明癌症是否已扩散到乳房内或身体其他部位的过程称为分期。从分期过程中收集的信息来确定疾病的严重程度,依据病情来指导下一步治疗。
有些治疗方案可能使未出生的婴儿暴露在有害的辐射或染料下。这些方案只有在绝对必要时才执行。可以采取某些措施使未出生的婴儿尽可能少地受到辐射,例如使用铅内衬的防护罩覆盖腹部。
以下测试和方法可用于在怀孕期间对乳腺癌进行分期:
癌症在体内传播有三种方式。
癌症可以通过组织、淋巴系统和血液传播:
癌症可能从开始的地方扩散到身体的其他部位。
当癌症扩散到身体的另一部位时,就叫做转移。癌细胞从它们开始的地方(原发性肿瘤)分离,并通过淋巴系统或血液转移。
转移性肿瘤与原发性肿瘤是同一类型的肿瘤。例如,如果乳腺癌扩散到骨骼,骨骼中的癌细胞实际上就是乳腺癌细胞。这种疾病是转移性乳腺癌,而不是骨癌。
在乳腺癌中,分期取决于原发肿瘤的大小和位置、癌细胞向邻近淋巴结或身体其他部位的扩散、肿瘤分级以及是否存在某些生物标志物。
为了计划最好的治疗方案和了解你的预后,了解乳腺癌的分期是很重要的。
乳腺癌分期分为三类:
TNM系统用于描述原发性肿瘤的大小以及肿瘤向邻近淋巴结或身体其他部位的扩散情况。
对于乳腺癌,TNM系统描述肿瘤如下:
肿瘤(T)。肿瘤的大小和位置。
淋巴结(N)。癌细胞扩散的淋巴结的大小和位置。
当淋巴结被手术切除并在显微镜下被病理学家研究时,病理分期被用来描述淋巴结。淋巴结的病理分期描述如下。
或
癌细胞已经扩散到4到9个腋窝淋巴结,其中至少有一个淋巴结大于2毫米。癌细胞也已经扩散到与原发肿瘤同侧胸骨附近的淋巴结,癌细胞大于0.2毫米,且通过前哨淋巴结活检发现。
当使用乳腺钼靶或超声进行淋巴结检查时,会产生临床分期。淋巴结的临床分期在这里没有描述。
转移(M)。癌症扩散到身体其他部位。
分级系统用来描述乳腺肿瘤生长和扩散的速度。
分级系统根据癌细胞和组织在显微镜下的异常情况以及癌细胞生长和扩散的速度来描述肿瘤。低级癌细胞看起来更像正常细胞,生长和扩散的速度往往比高级癌细胞慢。为了描述癌细胞和组织的异常程度,病理学家将评估以下三个特征:
对于每一个特征,病理学家的评分为1到3分;评分为“1”表示细胞和肿瘤组织看起来最像正常的细胞和组织,评分为“3”表示细胞和组织看起来最不正常。每个特征的分数相加得到的总分在3到9之间。
可能有三个等级:
生物标记物检测是用来确定乳腺癌细胞是否有某些受体。
健康的乳腺细胞,和一些乳腺癌细胞,有附着雌激素和孕激素受体(生物标记物)。这些激素是健康细胞和一些乳腺癌细胞生长和分裂所必需的。为了检查这些生物标记物,在活检或手术过程中会取出含有乳腺癌细胞的组织样本。这些样本在实验室进行测试,以确定乳腺癌细胞是否有雌激素或孕激素受体。
另一种被称为HER2的受体(生物标记物)在所有乳腺癌细胞表面都有发现。HER2受体是乳腺癌细胞生长和分裂所必需的。
对于乳腺癌,生物标志物检测包括以下内容:
有时乳腺癌细胞会被描述为三阴性或三阳性。
了解雌激素受体、孕激素受体和HER2受体的状态对选择最佳治疗方案是很重要的。有些药物可以阻止受体与雌激素和孕激素的结合,阻止癌症的生长。其他药物可以用来阻断乳腺癌细胞表面的HER2受体,阻止癌细胞生长。
将TNM系统、分级系统和生物标志物状态结合起来,可以确定乳腺癌的分期。
以下是三个结合TNM系统、分级系统和生物标记物状态的例子,以确定第一次治疗是手术的妇女乳腺癌的病理预后阶段:
如果肿瘤大小为30毫米(T2),没有扩散到附近的淋巴结(N0),没有扩散到身体的远处(M0),并且是:
癌症是ⅡA期。
如果肿瘤大小为53毫米(T3),扩散到4到9个腋窝淋巴结(N2),没有扩散到身体的其他部位(M0),并且是:
肿瘤是 IIIA期。
如果肿瘤大小为65毫米(T3),扩散到3个腋窝淋巴结(N1a),扩散到肺(M1),并且是:
癌症是4期(转移性乳腺癌)。
咨询你的医生,了解你的乳腺癌是什么阶段,以及如何利用它来为你规划最佳治疗方案。
手术后,你的医生将收到一份病理报告,描述原发肿瘤的大小和位置,癌细胞向附近淋巴结的扩散,肿瘤分级,以及是否存在某些生物标志物。病理报告和其他检测结果用于确定乳腺癌的分期。
你可能会有很多问题。请你的医生解释分期是如何决定治疗癌症的最佳选择,以及是否有适合你的临床试验。
After breast cancer has been diagnosed, tests are done to find out if cancer cells have spread within the breast or to other parts of the body.
The process used to find out if the cancer has spread within the breast or to other parts of the body is called staging. The information gathered from the staging process determines the stage of the disease. It is important to know the stage in order to plan treatment.
Some procedures may expose the unborn baby to harmful radiation or dyes. These procedures are done only if absolutely necessary. Certain actions can be taken to expose the unborn baby to as little radiation as possible, such as the use of a lead-lined shield to cover the abdomen.
The following tests and procedures may be used to stage breast cancer during pregnancy:
There are three ways that cancer spreads in the body.
Cancer can spread through tissue, the lymph system, and the blood:
Cancer may spread from where it began to other parts of the body.
When cancer spreads to another part of the body, it is called metastasis. Cancer cells break away from where they began (the primary tumor) and travel through the lymph system or blood.
The metastatic tumor is the same type of cancer as the primary tumor. For example, if breast cancer spreads to the bone, the cancer cells in the bone are actually breast cancer cells. The disease is metastatic breast cancer, not bone cancer.
In breast cancer, stage is based on the size and location of the primary tumor, the spread of cancer to nearby lymph nodes or other parts of the body, tumor grade, and whether certain biomarkers are present.
To plan the best treatment and understand your prognosis, it is important to know the breast cancer stage.
There are 3 types of breast cancer stage groups:
The TNM system is used to describe the size of the primary tumor and the spread of cancer to nearby lymph nodes or other parts of the body.
For breast cancer, the TNM system describes the tumor as follows:
Tumor (T). The size and location of the tumor.
Lymph Node (N). The size and location of lymph nodes where cancer has spread.
When the lymph nodes are removed by surgery and studied under a microscope by a pathologist, pathologic staging is used to describe the lymph nodes. The pathologic staging of lymph nodes is described below.
or
cancer has spread to 4 to 9 axillary lymph nodes and cancer in at least one of the lymph nodes is larger than 2 millimeters. Cancer has also spread to lymph nodes near the breastbone on the same side of the body as the primary tumor, and the cancer is larger than 0.2 millimeters and is found by sentinel lymph node biopsy.
When the lymph nodes are checked using mammography or ultrasound, it is called clinical staging. The clinical staging of lymph nodes is not described here.
Metastasis (M). The spread of cancer to other parts of the body.
The grading system is used to describe how quickly a breast tumor is likely to grow and spread.
The grading system describes a tumor based on how abnormal the cancer cells and tissue look under a microscope and how quickly the cancer cells are likely to grow and spread. Low-grade cancer cells look more like normal cells and tend to grow and spread more slowly than high-grade cancer cells. To describe how abnormal the cancer cells and tissue are, the pathologist will assess the following three features:
For each feature, the pathologist assigns a score of 1 to 3; a score of “1” means the cells and tumor tissue look the most like normal cells and tissue, and a score of “3” means the cells and tissue look the most abnormal. The scores for each feature are added together to get a total score between 3 and 9.
Three grades are possible:
Biomarker testing is used to find out whether breast cancer cells have certain receptors.
Healthy breast cells, and some breast cancer cells, have receptors (biomarkers) that attach to the hormones estrogen and progesterone. These hormones are needed for healthy cells, and some breast cancer cells, to grow and divide. To check for these biomarkers, samples of tissue containing breast cancer cells are removed during a biopsy or surgery. The samples are tested in a laboratory to see whether the breast cancer cells have estrogen or progesterone receptors.
Another type of receptor (biomarker) that is found on the surface of all breast cancer cells is called HER2. HER2 receptors are needed for the breast cancer cells to grow and divide.
For breast cancer, biomarker testing includes the following:
Sometimes the breast cancer cells will be described as triple negative or triple positive.
It is important to know the estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and HER2 receptor status to choose the best treatment. There are drugs that can stop the receptors from attaching to the hormones estrogen and progesterone and stop the cancer from growing. Other drugs may be used to block the HER2 receptors on the surface of the breast cancer cells and stop the cancer from growing.
The TNM system, the grading system, and biomarker status are combined to find out the breast cancer stage.
Here are 3 examples that combine the TNM system, the grading system, and the biomarker status to find out the Pathological Prognostic breast cancer stage for a woman whose first treatment was surgery:
If the tumor size is 30 millimeters (T2), has not spread to nearby lymph nodes (N0), has not spread to distant parts of the body (M0), and is:
The cancer is stage IIA.
If the tumor size is 53 millimeters (T3), has spread to 4 to 9 axillary lymph nodes (N2), has not spread to other parts of the body (M0), and is:
The tumor is stage IIIA.
If the tumor size is 65 millimeters (T3), has spread to 3 axillary lymph nodes (N1a), has spread to the lungs (M1), and is:
The cancer is stage IV (metastatic breast cancer).
Talk to your doctor to find out what your breast cancer stage is and how it is used to plan the best treatment for you.
After surgery, your doctor will receive a pathology report that describes the size and location of the primary tumor, the spread of cancer to nearby lymph nodes, tumor grade, and whether certain biomarkers are present. The pathology report and other test results are used to determine your breast cancer stage.
You are likely to have many questions. Ask your doctor to explain how staging is used to decide the best options to treat your cancer and whether there are clinical trials that might be right for you.
孕妇的治疗取决于疾病的阶段和胎儿的月龄。
使用三种标准治疗:
手术
大多数患有乳腺癌的孕妇都要做切除乳房的手术。手臂下方的一些淋巴结可以切除,这样病理学家就可以在显微镜下确定是否有癌细胞。
癌症切除的手术类型包括:
在医生切除了手术时能看到的所有癌细胞后,一些患者可能会在手术后接受化疗或放疗,以杀死任何残留的癌细胞。对于早期乳腺癌孕妇,在婴儿出生后给予放射治疗和激素治疗。术后给予的治疗,是为了降低癌症复发的风险,称为辅助治疗。
放射治疗
放射治疗是一种利用高能x射线或其他类型的辐射杀死或阻止癌细胞生长的癌症治疗方法。放射治疗有两种类型:
放射治疗的方式取决于所治疗癌症的类型和分期。
婴儿出生后,早期(I期或II期)乳腺癌孕妇可接受外照射治疗。晚期(III期或IV期)乳腺癌患者可在妊娠头3个月后接受外照射治疗,如有可能,可延迟至婴儿出生后接受外照射治疗。
化疗
化疗是一种用药物来阻止癌细胞生长的癌症治疗方法,既可以杀死癌细胞,也可以阻止癌细胞分裂。当化疗通过口服或注射到静脉或肌肉中时,药物进入血液并能到达全身的癌细胞(全身化疗)。当化疗直接进入脑脊液、器官或腹腔等体腔时,药物主要影响这些区域的癌细胞(区域化疗)。
化疗的方式取决于所治疗癌症的类型和分期。妊娠期乳腺癌采用全身化疗。
在怀孕的前3个月通常不进行化疗。在这段时间后进行化疗通常不会对胎儿造成伤害,但可能会导致早产或低出生体重。
有关更多信息,请参阅批准用于乳腺癌的药物。
结束妊娠似乎并不能提高母亲的生存机会。
因为终止妊娠不太可能提高母亲的存活率,所以通常不是一种治疗选择。
乳腺癌的治疗可能会引起副作用。
有关癌症治疗引起的副作用的信息,请参阅我们的副作用页面。
Treatment options for pregnant women depend on the stage of the disease and the age of the unborn baby.
Three types of standard treatment are used:
Surgery
Most pregnant women with breast cancer have surgery to remove the breast. Some of the lymph nodes under the arm may be removed so they can be checked under a microscope by a pathologist for signs of cancer.
Types of surgery to remove the cancer include:
After the doctor removes all of the cancer that can be seen at the time of surgery, some patients may be given chemotherapy or radiation therapy after surgery to kill any cancer cells that are left. For pregnant women with early-stage breast cancer, radiation therapy and hormone therapy are given after the baby is born. Treatment given after surgery, to lower the risk that the cancer will come back, is called adjuvant therapy.
Radiation therapy
Radiation therapy is a cancer treatment that uses high-energy x-rays or other types of radiation to kill cancer cells or keep them from growing. There are two types of radiation therapy:
The way the radiation therapy is given depends on the type and stage of the cancer being treated.
External radiation therapy may be given to pregnant women with early stage (stage I or II) breast cancer after the baby is born. Women with late stage (stage III or IV) breast cancer may be given external radiation therapy after the first 3 months of pregnancy or, if possible, radiation therapy is delayed until after the baby is born.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is a cancer treatment that uses drugs to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping the cells from dividing. When chemotherapy is taken by mouth or injected into a vein or muscle, the drugs enter the bloodstream and can reach cancer cells throughout the body (systemic chemotherapy). When chemotherapy is placed directly into the cerebrospinal fluid, an organ, or a body cavity such as the abdomen, the drugs mainly affect cancer cells in those areas (regional chemotherapy).
The way the chemotherapy is given depends on the type and stage of the cancer being treated. Systemic chemotherapy is used to treat breast cancer during pregnancy.
Chemotherapy is usually not given during the first 3 months of pregnancy. Chemotherapy given after this time does not usually harm the unborn baby but may cause early labor or low birth weight.
See Drugs Approved for Breast Cancer for more information.
Ending the pregnancy does not seem to improve the mother’s chance of survival.
Because ending the pregnancy is not likely to improve the mother’s chance of survival, it is not usually a treatment option.
Treatment for breast cancer may cause side effects.
For information about side effects caused by treatment for cancer, see our Side Effects page.
有关下面列出的治疗的信息,请参阅“治疗选项概述”部分。
早期乳腺癌孕妇(一期和二期)的治疗方法通常与未怀孕的患者相同,有些变化是为了保护未出生的婴儿。治疗可包括以下内容:
妊娠期间不应使用激素治疗和曲妥珠单抗。
妊娠晚期乳腺癌(三期或四期)患者没有标准的治疗方法。治疗可包括以下内容:
妊娠头3个月内不应进行放射治疗和化疗。
For information about the treatments listed below, see the Treatment Option Overview section.
Pregnant women with early-stage breast cancer (stage I and stage II) are usually treated in the same way as patients who are not pregnant, with some changes to protect the unborn baby. Treatment may include the following:
Hormone therapy and trastuzumab should not be given during pregnancy.
There is no standard treatment for patients with late-stage breast cancer (stage III or stage IV) during pregnancy. Treatment may include the following:
Radiation therapy and chemotherapy should not be given during the first 3 months of pregnancy.
如果计划手术或化疗,应停止哺乳(母乳生产)和母乳喂养。
如果计划进行手术,应该停止母乳喂养,以减少乳房内的血流量,使其变小。许多化疗药物,特别是环磷酰胺和甲氨蝶呤,可能在母乳中大量出现,并可能对哺乳期婴儿造成伤害。接受化疗的妇女不应母乳喂养。
停止哺乳并不能改善母亲的预后。
乳腺癌似乎不会伤害未出生的婴儿。
乳腺癌细胞似乎不会从母亲传给未出生的婴儿。
怀孕似乎并不影响过去患过乳腺癌的妇女的生存。
对于患有乳腺癌的女性来说,怀孕似乎并不影响她们的生存。不过,一些医生建议,女性在接受乳腺癌治疗2年后再尝试生育,这样就能发现癌症的任何早期复发。这可能会影响妇女怀孕的决定。如果母亲患了乳腺癌,胎儿似乎不会受到影响。
Lactation (breast milk production) and breast-feeding should be stopped if surgery or chemotherapy is planned.
If surgery is planned, breast-feeding should be stopped to reduce blood flow in the breasts and make them smaller. Many chemotherapy drugs, especially cyclophosphamide and methotrexate, may occur in high levels in breast milk and may harm the nursing baby. Women receiving chemotherapy should not breast-feed.
Stopping lactation does not improve the mother's prognosis.
Breast cancer does not appear to harm the unborn baby.
Breast cancer cells do not seem to pass from the mother to the unborn baby.
Pregnancy does not seem to affect the survival of women who have had breast cancer in the past.
For women who have had breast cancer, pregnancy does not seem to affect their survival. However, some doctors recommend that a woman wait 2 years after treatment for breast cancer before trying to have a baby, so that any early return of the cancer would be detected. This may affect a woman’s decision to become pregnant. The unborn baby does not seem to be affected if the mother has had breast cancer.
有关妊娠期乳腺癌的更多信息,请参见以下内容:
关于国家癌症研究所的一般癌症信息和其他资源,请参见以下内容:
For more information from the National Cancer Institute about breast cancer during pregnancy, see the following:
For general cancer information and other resources from the National Cancer Institute, see the following:
Physician Data Query (PDQ) is the National Cancer Institute's (NCI's) comprehensive cancer information database. The PDQ database contains summaries of the latest published information on cancer prevention, detection, genetics, treatment, supportive care, and complementary and alternative medicine. Most summaries come in two versions. The health professional versions have detailed information written in technical language. The patient versions are written in easy-to-understand, nontechnical language. Both versions have cancer information that is accurate and up to date and most versions are also available in Spanish.
PDQ is a service of the NCI. The NCI is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). NIH is the federal government’s center of biomedical research. The PDQ summaries are based on an independent review of the medical literature. They are not policy statements of the NCI or the NIH.
This PDQ cancer information summary has current information about the treatment of breast cancer during pregnancy. It is meant to inform and help patients, families, and caregivers. It does not give formal guidelines or recommendations for making decisions about health care.
Editorial Boards write the PDQ cancer information summaries and keep them up to date. These Boards are made up of experts in cancer treatment and other specialties related to cancer. The summaries are reviewed regularly and changes are made when there is new information. The date on each summary ("Updated") is the date of the most recent change.
The information in this patient summary was taken from the health professional version, which is reviewed regularly and updated as needed, by the PDQ Adult Treatment Editorial Board.
A clinical trial is a study to answer a scientific question, such as whether one treatment is better than another. Trials are based on past studies and what has been learned in the laboratory. Each trial answers certain scientific questions in order to find new and better ways to help cancer patients. During treatment clinical trials, information is collected about the effects of a new treatment and how well it works. If a clinical trial shows that a new treatment is better than one currently being used, the new treatment may become "standard." Patients may want to think about taking part in a clinical trial. Some clinical trials are open only to patients who have not started treatment.
Clinical trials can be found online at NCI's website. For more information, call the Cancer Information Service (CIS), NCI's contact center, at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237).
PDQ is a registered trademark. The content of PDQ documents can be used freely as text. It cannot be identified as an NCI PDQ cancer information summary unless the whole summary is shown and it is updated regularly. However, a user would be allowed to write a sentence such as “NCI’s PDQ cancer information summary about breast cancer prevention states the risks in the following way: [include excerpt from the summary].”
The best way to cite this PDQ summary is:
PDQ® Adult Treatment Editorial Board. PDQ Breast Cancer Treatment During Pregnancy. Bethesda, MD: National Cancer Institute. Updated
Images in this summary are used with permission of the author(s), artist, and/or publisher for use in the PDQ summaries only. If you want to use an image from a PDQ summary and you are not using the whole summary, you must get permission from the owner. It cannot be given by the National Cancer Institute. Information about using the images in this summary, along with many other images related to cancer can be found in Visuals Online. Visuals Online is a collection of more than 3,000 scientific images.
The information in these summaries should not be used to make decisions about insurance reimbursement. More information on insurance coverage is available on Cancer.gov on the Managing Cancer Care page.
More information about contacting us or receiving help with the Cancer.gov website can be found on our Contact Us for Help page. Questions can also be submitted to Cancer.gov through the website’s E-mail Us.
Physician Data Query (PDQ) is the National Cancer Institute's (NCI's) comprehensive cancer information database. The PDQ database contains summaries of the latest published information on cancer prevention, detection, genetics, treatment, supportive care, and complementary and alternative medicine. Most summaries come in two versions. The health professional versions have detailed information written in technical language. The patient versions are written in easy-to-understand, nontechnical language. Both versions have cancer information that is accurate and up to date and most versions are also available in Spanish.
PDQ is a service of the NCI. The NCI is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). NIH is the federal government’s center of biomedical research. The PDQ summaries are based on an independent review of the medical literature. They are not policy statements of the NCI or the NIH.
This PDQ cancer information summary has current information about the treatment of breast cancer during pregnancy. It is meant to inform and help patients, families, and caregivers. It does not give formal guidelines or recommendations for making decisions about health care.
Editorial Boards write the PDQ cancer information summaries and keep them up to date. These Boards are made up of experts in cancer treatment and other specialties related to cancer. The summaries are reviewed regularly and changes are made when there is new information. The date on each summary ("Updated") is the date of the most recent change.
The information in this patient summary was taken from the health professional version, which is reviewed regularly and updated as needed, by the PDQ Adult Treatment Editorial Board.
A clinical trial is a study to answer a scientific question, such as whether one treatment is better than another. Trials are based on past studies and what has been learned in the laboratory. Each trial answers certain scientific questions in order to find new and better ways to help cancer patients. During treatment clinical trials, information is collected about the effects of a new treatment and how well it works. If a clinical trial shows that a new treatment is better than one currently being used, the new treatment may become "standard." Patients may want to think about taking part in a clinical trial. Some clinical trials are open only to patients who have not started treatment.
Clinical trials can be found online at NCI's website. For more information, call the Cancer Information Service (CIS), NCI's contact center, at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237).
PDQ is a registered trademark. The content of PDQ documents can be used freely as text. It cannot be identified as an NCI PDQ cancer information summary unless the whole summary is shown and it is updated regularly. However, a user would be allowed to write a sentence such as “NCI’s PDQ cancer information summary about breast cancer prevention states the risks in the following way: [include excerpt from the summary].”
The best way to cite this PDQ summary is:
PDQ® Adult Treatment Editorial Board. PDQ Breast Cancer Treatment During Pregnancy. Bethesda, MD: National Cancer Institute. Updated
Images in this summary are used with permission of the author(s), artist, and/or publisher for use in the PDQ summaries only. If you want to use an image from a PDQ summary and you are not using the whole summary, you must get permission from the owner. It cannot be given by the National Cancer Institute. Information about using the images in this summary, along with many other images related to cancer can be found in Visuals Online. Visuals Online is a collection of more than 3,000 scientific images.
The information in these summaries should not be used to make decisions about insurance reimbursement. More information on insurance coverage is available on Cancer.gov on the Managing Cancer Care page.
More information about contacting us or receiving help with the Cancer.gov website can be found on our Contact Us for Help page. Questions can also be submitted to Cancer.gov through the website’s E-mail Us.