Pregnancy is Not Detrimental to the Melanoma Patient with Clinically Localized Disease.

OBJECTIVE

There exists a strong belief among physicians and the lay public that pregnancy adversely affects survival in patients with melanoma. The authors asked if there was any evidence to support this in patients with clinically localized disease.

METHODS

The authors reviewed the published literature on MEDLINE.

RESULTS

The authors found no compelling evidence in the literature that pregnancy has a negative impact on survival in patients with clinically localized cutaneous melanoma. Two recent population-based studies reported no negative impact of pregnancy on survival when pregnant melanoma patients were compared to nonpregnant gender-matched controls. A small increased risk of cause-specific death was noted in a recent population-based study, though this effect was small (HR, 1.52, p=0.47) and pregnant patients were more likely to have axial primary sites, which are associated with a poorer outcome.

CONCLUSION

There is no compelling evidence that pregnancy adversely affects outcome in melanoma patients who have clinically localized disease. Continuing to recommend a delay in childbearing for these patients is not supported by the published medical literature.