2024-04-24 22:00:00
Due to lack of sufficient information on the long-term impact of radiotherapy during pregnancy, doctors often prefer to opt for an alternative treatment to treat cancer, such as chemotherapy. But deviating from standard treatments can compromise the chances of recovery. A long-term study carried out at UZ Leuven now shows that the use of radiotherapy during pregnancy is safe for the unborn child.
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Between 2005 and 2023, the Leuven gynecologist Prof. Dr. Frédéric Amant and his team studied the cases of 43 children born to mothers who received cancer radiotherapy during pregnancy. The children were of different ages. The study combined cognitive tests, attention and memory tests, medical examinations, behavioral tests and parent questionnaires. The results showed that in children exposed to radiotherapy during the prenatal period, no long-term differences could be detected in neurocognitive, psychosocial or physical functioning compared to other children of the same age.
The research team concluded that, as long as certain safety thresholds are not exceeded, upper body radiation therapy early in pregnancy is not dangerous for the unborn child. Upper body radiation therapy is an important part of treatment in cases such as brain tumors, thyroid cancers, breast cancer, Hodgkin’s disease, eye tumors, or head and neck cancers.
Professor Frédéric Amant, gynecologist at UZ Leuven and lead author of the study, explains: “This new study aims above all to reassure pregnant women: if they have cancer and need radiotherapy, they do not have to fear the consequences for their unborn child. Depending on where the tumor is located in the body and the stage of pregnancy, doctors may use radiation therapy. The need for such treatment in a pregnant woman being quite rare, there was no data on the long-term effects for the child until today. Therefore, guidelines and procedures vary widely from country to country and from hospital to hospital. Our study will now help doctors around the world make the decision whether or not to administer radiotherapy.”
The study results were published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health.
See also article: Cancer survival rates have increased dramatically
Sources :
https://pers.uzleuven.be
https://www.thelancet.com
Last updated: April 2024
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