Breast Cancer, Fertility Preservation and Reproduction

This book provides a comprehensive overview on issues surrounding fertility in patients who have been diagnosed with breast cancer or belong to a high-risk population. The impact of breast cancer treatment on fertility is clearly explained and all the available options for fertility preservation are discussed, including the use of assisted reproduction technologies. Guidance is offered on family planning and on management options when breast cancer arises during pregnancy and when pregnancy occurs after breast cancer. Answers are provided to a wide range of key questions, including: What is the impact of pregnancy after breast cancer on prognosis? What advice should be given on the timing of pregnancy in relation to chemotherapy and endocrine treatment? What is the effect of reducing the duration of endocrine treatment to allow an earlier attempt at pregnancy? Is breast feeding possible? Medical treatments of breast cancer have a huge impact on fertility. While many procedures can be applied to preserve fertility, all must be put into action within the very short time available before starting treatment. Any delay in referral of a woman wishing to preserve her fertility to an ART center with experience in oncologic patients may preclude the possibility of a future pregnancy. In addition, an increasing number of high-risk patients are asking questions about their reproductive life, from choice of contraception to the risks of assisted reproduction techniques. Physicians will find this book an invaluable aid in providing flawless counseling to their patients and ensuring that they receive optimal management.

Nicoletta Biglia MD, PhD, is Associate Professor of Gynaecology and Obstetrics at the University of Torino Medical School and Deputy Director of the Academic Division of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Breast diseases at the Mauriziano Umberto I Hospital in Torino. Dr Biglia graduated in Medicine and Surgery at the University of Turin in 1986 summa cum laude, she specialized in Obstetrics and Gynaecology in 1990, got the PhD in Gynecological Oncology in 1995 and the European Certificate in Laparoscopic Pelvic Surgery in the year 2000. Hers clinical activity has been primarily devoted to the diagnosis and surgical treatment of breast and pelvic tumors. She has a more than 20 years long experience in radical pelvic surgery, in oncoplastic breast cancer surgery, and has refined hers skills through several residencies and visits in Reference Institutions in Europe and USA. She has developed a special research interest in the relationship between hormones, oncogenes and breast cancer risk, in the procedures and drugs aimed at reducing the impact of cancer and cancer related treatments on the quality of life of cancer survivors, and in innovative surgical techniques both in pelvic and breast oncology. Dr Biglia has promoted and partecipated in several international clinical trials in the fields of Gynecological Oncology, Menopause and Breast Cancer. She is member of National and International Scientific Societies: European Society of Gynaecological Oncology (ESGO), International Gynaecologic Cancer Society (IGCS), European Society of Mastology (EUSOMA), Italian Society of Gynaecological Oncologi (SIOG), Italian Breast Network (Senonetwork). She has served in the Board of the Italian Society of Menopause (SIM) for two terms and from 2005 to 2014 in the Board of the Italian Society of Gynaecological Oncology (SIOG). She has authored more than 120 papers in international journals and has participated as an invited speaker in national and international conferences, congresses, and courses. www.publicationslist.org/nicoletta.biglia

Fedro Alessandro Peccatori. Since 1994 he has been working at the European Institute of Oncology, IRCCS, Milan, in the Division of Haemato-Oncology, Medical Oncology and Gynecology. In 2011, he was appointed Director of the Fertility and Procreation Unit, which is now integrated within the Gynecologic Oncology Program. Dr. Peccatori’s main research interests are fertility preservation and counseling in young oncological patients, pharmacological protection of ovarian function during chemotherapy, clinical and molecular characterization of pregnancy-associated cancers, and research protocols for the treatment of breast and gynecological malignancies. He has been a speaker at a number of international meetings, and in the past 5 years has taught at the Universities of Varese, Pavia, and Milan. He is Deputy Scientific Director at the European School of Oncology, with responsibility for educational activities. As President of PROFERT (Society for the Preservation of Fertility) he has contributed in building up the Italian network for fertility preservation in cancer patients. He has acted as referee for various leading journals and is on the editorial committee of ecancermedicalscience and Cancerworld. Dr. Peccatori is the lead or co-author of 125 publications in peer-reviewed journals indexed in PubMed and is co-editor of the Springer book Cancer and Pregnancy (2008).