RESULTS from an international study on the safety of breastfeeding for BRCA carriers, following breast cancer treatment, were presented at ESMO 2024, Barcelona, Spain.
The multicentre, retrospective cohort study comprised 474 BRCA carriers, diagnosed with stage I-III invasive breast cancer at 40 or younger, between January 2000 to December 2020. Of the women that delivered a child following breast cancer diagnosis; 110 (23.2%) breastfed after delivery (median duration 5 months), while 68 (14.4%) did not, 225 (47.5%) had undergone bilateral risk-reducing mastectomy before delivery, preventing breastfeeding, and 71 (15.0%) had an unknown breastfeeding status.
The study itself compared locoregional and contralateral BC recurrences, as well as disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS), between the breastfeeding and non-breastfeeding groups. After a median follow-up of seven years (IQR: 3.6-10.5) after diagnosis, the results showed no significant difference in cumulative incidence of locoregional or contralateral BC events between the breastfeeding and no breastfeeding groups (adjusted sHR=1.08, 95%CI 0.57-2.06, p=0.82). Similarly, breastfeeding did not affect DFS or OS, indicating that breastfeeding is not harmful to the patients’ cancer prognosis or treatment success.
The findings suggest that breastfeeding is both feasible and safe for women with BRCA mutations who have undergone breast cancer treatment. This study highlights that women can meet both maternal and infant needs without increasing their cancer recurrence risk. Researchers emphasised the importance of balancing quality of life and cancer care, reassuring BRCA carriers that breastfeeding does not negatively impact their prognosis.
Helena Bradbury, EMJ
Reference
Blondeaux E et al. Breastfeeding after breast cancer in young BRCA carriers: Results from an international cohort study. Abstract 1815O. ESMO Annual Meeting, 13-17 September, 2024.
