Cancer and pregnancy

Fund Frédéric Amant

 Research focused on the problem and consequences of cancer therapy during pregnancy

Professor Dr. Frédéric Amant is coordinating research focused on the problem of cancer during pregnancy, and more specifically, on the consequences of cancer therapy for the child.

Origin of the project

The research project arose through a patient's question in the fall of 2003. A young woman with cervical cancer, diagnosed during her pregnancy, consulted the division of Gynaecological Oncology of the UZ Gasthuisberg, Leuven. The patient had lost her first child after a premature birth. Since the standard treatment for cervical cancer would result in a termination of the pregnancy, she wanted to have the alternatives investigated.

In the end, the team decided to administer chemotherapy untill the foetus was viable. After the birth of the child, her womb was removed. Almost three years later, mother and child are in excellent condition.

The new approach gave hope, but many questions remain concerning this issue, both for doctors and for patients. To find an answer for these, a special research project was begun.

Background

In Flanders, doctors diagnose cancer in about 60 pregnant women yearly. The most frequent cancers in fertile women are breast and cervical cancer, leukaemia, lymphoma, and melanoma. The application of chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or surgery during pregnancy raises many questions. Balancing between different treatment strategies, the medical team must consider not only the life and the health of the foetus, but also the mother's chances. If pregnant women receive the same treatment as non-pregnant women, their prognosis is the same.

Concern for the health of the foetus can necessitate a termination of the pregnancy. The decision -making is the most difficult in the second trimester of pregnancy. Postponement of treatment until fetal viability can reduce the mother's chances. On the other hand, premature birth can have detrimental consequences for the child.

To be able to offer both mother and child the greatest chances, cancer treatment is best begun during pregnancy.

There are provisionally no indications that chemotherapy during pregnancy has a directly damaging effect on the foetus. Radiotherapy on the upper-body is also possible during pregnancy. The absence of serious defects at birth indicates that both cancer treatments are safe. However, less research has been carried out on the functioning of the child in the longer term. The few studies that report on this are indeed reassuring, but further research remains necessary.

The research project

The research of Professor Dr. Frédéric Amant concentrates on women who have been diagnosed with cancer during pregnancy, and who also were administered chemotherapy during their pregnancy. The research team wants to investigate what consequences cancer therapy has for the health and the development of the child, both in the long and the short term. Based on these results, doctors can give well-founded advice and guidance to their patients in choosing a concrete treatment strategy.

The research is being carried out in collaboration with specialists from the department of Pediatrics. The children are systematically neurologically and cardiologically investigated by two pediatricians: immediately after birth, at 18 months, at 5-6 years of age, and 3-yearly thereafter (without blood samples or invasive procedures).

The project is coordinated by specialists of the U.Z. Gasthuisberg, K.U.Leuven, Belgium and the St. Radboud University Hospital of Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

Clinical profile Principal investigator

Prof. Dr. Frédéric Amant (°1967) obtained his medical degree at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in 1992. The following six years he specialised in Obstetrics & Gynaecology at the universities of Leuven (Belgium), Concepcion (Chile) and Pretoria (South-Africa) (1992-8). He obtained his PhD in 2002 and acquired his sub-specialty in gynaecological oncology after a training in Pretoria and Leuven. He was appointed since 2003 at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. Prof. Dr. Amant is full time staff member at the division of Gynaecological Oncology and the Multidisciplinary Breast Center at the UZ Gasthuisberg hospital in Leuven. In 2006 he was appointed head of the research group Gynaecological Oncology.

He cares for women with cancer originating from the pelvic female organs and breast cancer. Both the surgical resection and systemic treatment with chemotherapy and hormonal agents constitute his daily practice. From clinical point of view individualisation of treatment with a special emphasis on adapted surgical techniques are accentuated. Apart from cancer occurring during pregnancy, he concentrates his research on uterine tumours and sexuality after cancer surgery.

Fundraising

Cancer research is important. Supporting the project of professor Frédéric Amant is possible through financial contribution. In case you want to donate for the Fund for Research on cancer during pregnancy, you can transfer an amount on account number 734-0194177-89 off K.U.Leuven, citing "Gift Prof. Amant - 400/0000/67131". Donations higher than 30 euro are tax-deductible and you will receive a receipt from K.U.Leuven.

Contact person

Professor Dr. Frédéric Amant, Gynaecologische Oncologie, Verloskunde-Gynaecologie, Afdeling Vrouw, U.Z. Leuven, tel. 016/ 34 46 35, e-mail frederic.amant@uz.kuleuven.ac.be