AUTHOR=Bergamini Cristiana , Cavalieri Stefano , Resteghini Carlo , Alfieri Salvatore , Nuzzolese Imperia , Colombo Elena , Ottini Arianna , Calareso Giuseppina , Vingiani Andrea , Iacovelli Nicola Alessandro , Franceschini Marzia , Guzzo Marco , Deganello Alberto , Licitra Lisa 

TITLE=Multidisciplinary management of pregnancy-associated and early post-partum head and neck cancer patients

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Oncology

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/oncology/articles/10.3389/fonc.2023.1298439

DOI=10.3389/fonc.2023.1298439

ISSN=2234-943X

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Background</title><p>Pregnancy-associated cancer (PAC) occurs during pregnancy or within 12 months after the delivery. Head and neck cancer (HNC) during pregnancy is infrequent, therefore diagnosis and personalized therapy are intricate.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>We investigated outcomes of 15 PAC patients (5 salivary, 4 nasopharyngeal, 3 thyroid, 2 oral cavity, one HPV-related carcinoma) diagnosed in the period 2005-2019. A literature review on PAC is provided.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>Median gestational age at PAC diagnosis was 28 weeks (range: 16–40 weeks) in ten cases, at 5 months after delivery (range: 1 week–6 months) in the remaining five. Treatments included surgery (3 during pregnancy, 5 after childbirth), chemoradiation (8), and 3 patients with upfront metastatic disease received chemotherapy. Median survival was 6.6 years (eight women remain with no evidence of disease six years after diagnosis).</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusion</title><p>All patients received state-of-the-art therapy, with encouraging long-term results, highlighting treatment safety in women with HNC during pregnancy.</p></sec>