Table 2.

International guidelines pertaining to breast cancer and pregnancy.

Guideline	Pregnancy-associated breast cancer	Pregnancy after breast cancer
ESMO 2013	No recommendation for abortion (lack of evidence)	No recommendation against pregnancy  (a)
NCCN  2014	No recommendation for medical abortion (discussion in a multidisciplinary setting, discussion with patient)	No recommendation against pregnancy
SOCG 2002	No recommendation for abortion (b)	No recommendation against pregnancy no detrimental effect)  (c)

a "Do not discourage pregnancy following breast cancer diagnosis irrespective of the [estrogen receptor] status."

b "In early pregnancy, the patient should be counseled regarding the effects of the proposed therapy on the fetus and on overall maternal prognosis. Termination of pregnancy should be discussed, but the patient should be counseled that prognosis is not altered by pregnancy termination."

c "Woman treated for [breast cancer], who wish to become pregnant should be counseled that pregnancy is possible and does not seem to be associated with a worse prognosis. However, they should be made aware that the evidence to support such advice is relatively poor." ESMO = European Society for Medical Oncology; NCCN = National Comprehensive Cancer Network; SOCG = The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada.