Cancer patients can safely receive chemo during pregnancy — SkimNews
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- Elyce Cardonick treated a pregnant woman with ovarian cancer using chemotherapy without delay, resulting in healthy twins who are now 28 years old and thriving
- Elyce Cardonick observed that a second pregnant ovarian cancer patient had treatment delayed until the third trimester and did not survive past her child’s second birthday
- Elyce Cardonick co-developed clinical guidelines with the Society of Maternal Fetal Medicine and the American Society of Clinical Oncology for managing cancer during pregnancy
- Children exposed to chemotherapy in utero perform comparably to unexposed children on developmental tests through adolescence, though they are three times more likely to need eyeglasses
- Electively preterm-born children to avoid maternal cancer treatment perform worse on developmental outcomes than those exposed to chemotherapy in utero
- Pregnant women with cancer have survival rates similar to non-pregnant women with the same diagnosis, with no evidence that termination improves maternal outcomes
Why it matters: Doctors who delay cancer treatment or push for early delivery may unintentionally harm both mother and child, as research shows treating cancer during pregnancy leads to better survival and comparable child development. The guidelines Cardonick helped create offer a path to standardize care for a rare but high-stakes scenario.
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