Breast cancer in pregnancy and lactation.

Thirty-six Nigerian women admitted with breast cancer during pregnancy and/or lactation (SGP) are the basis of this study of breast cancer in pregnancy and lactation. Thirty-six non pregnant but age and c TNM stage matched breast cancer patients and another thirty-six non pregnant, age matched women with benign breast neoplasms served as control group A (CGA) and control group B (CGB) respectively. Even though of similar c TNM state, the mean duration of tumor presence in the SGP (6 months) was shorter than in CGA (12 months). Also the SGP presented with tumor of higher histological grade (grade III, 55.6%) than those of CGA (grade III, 19.4%). These lead to the conclusion that breast cancer in the study group patients was more rapidly progressing and was therefore of worse prognosis. This conclusion is confirmed by a finding of survival in CGA patients that was 1.4 times that of the study group patients. We therefore conclude that breast cancer associated with pregnancy or lactation in Nigerian women progresses more rapidly and has a worse prognosis than cancer in their non pregnant counterparts.