Any connection between pregnancy and Her2 positive BC?

[Julie2]

I am seeing so many pregnant woman being diagnosed with Her2 positive BC(I am one of them). I am wondering whether there is any connection between Her2 and pregnancy

Julie

[Christine MH-UK]

I looked into this because I was diagnosed a few months after I had my baby. All of the studies a few years ago seemed to say that her2 was no more prevalent during pregnancy or soon after, but younger breast cancer patients tend to be disproportionately her2+++ and they are the ones who get pregnancy-affected breast cancer. Something like 40% of patients under the age of 40 are her2+++.

[Helen]

I was also diagnosed 8 months after my pregnancy. I breast fed and I thought it was just clogged milk ducts. My son did not want to feed on the breast with cancer. I feel blessed that I had him before being diagnosed. He is my only son.

Helen

Helen, your post made me think of this article I found this weekend:

Post-Pregnancy Breast Changes Tied to Cancer Metastasis

By David Douglas

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Feb 24 - Post-lactation involution of breast tissue appears to be associated with changes that promote breast tumor cell metastasis, according to findings from in vitro and murine studies.

In light of this, senior investigator Dr. Pepper Schedin told Reuters Health that "it would be beneficial to increase vigilance of breast cancer screening in recently pregnant women."

"Secondly," she noted, "depending on results of future research, it may be possible to target recently pregnant women with prevention strategies designed to block the tumor promotion that is associated with gland involution."

In the February issue of the American Journal of Pathology, Dr. Schedin of the University of Colorado Cancer Center, Aurora and colleagues observe that the mammary gland microenvironment during post-lactational involution shares similarities with inflammation, a state that can promote tumorigenesis.

Furthermore, in contrast to findings from extracellular matrices extracted from the mammary glands of nulliparous rats, the team found that those from animals involved in weaning-induced involution failed to support ductal development in normal human mammary cells and promoted invasiveness in mammary tumor cells.

When tumor cells mixed with nulliparous or involution matrix were then injected into the mammary pads of nude mice, metastases to lung, liver and kidney were increased in the involution group. This correlated, say the investigators, with a doubling of tumor vascular endothelial growth factor expression and an increase in angiogenesis.

These findings, they conclude, "provide a plausible mechanism to explain the high rate of metastases that occur with pregnancy-associated breast cancer."

In an accompanying editorial, Drs. Carlos Sonnenschein and Ana M. Soto of Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston commend the investigators' novel approach and assert that further studies are warranted "to extend and solidify the value of these important original data."

Am J Pathol 2006;168:602-620.

[clisa]

well in my case - not so - never pregnant - tubal ligation in 2004.


Lisa

Fats BC and foetal requirement.

This a question and no more as I have not seen it suggested anywhere.

If there is a link between BC and omega threes and sixes, including DHA and EPA, and if as has been suggested in some trials low omega three EPA/DHA(fish oil) intake do significantly impact on BC risk (omega three /DHA/EPA reduces risk), and higher levels of omega six do raise expression of HER2 then..

IF a foetus makes heavy demands on a mothers fat intake and deposit, and demands high levels of DHA EPA percusors (omega three) which are heavily (a fundamantal non replaceable need) involved in the formation of brain, vision etc (and given as I understand it DHA and EPA if not available throught diet can only be made from omega three, and may be in short supply in the mothers diet, and so stripped out from any existing fat reserves)....

Then could the babies nutritional omega three fat demands significantly deplete the mothers omega three and so place her at (much) higher risk of BC. The omega three are also implicated in mental wellbeing - could low level of omega three post birth be a factor in post natal depression.

Just a thought, and one I have not in any way followed up.

RB

I am looking for a link to fertility drugs. How many of you took fertility drugs to get pregnant. Hope it is not too personal.

Thanks

[anne]

Ladies,

You bring up a good point. I just had a baby 4 weeks ago and I had some breast pain in my last trimester and it was like pulling teeth to get my OB to examine them. They just don't think that it's out there. It is scary because if you are breastfeeding, your breasts always feel lumpy.
By the way, my mom is Her 2+++ and was 60 at the time of her dx so not always just for young women.
Take care,
ANne

[Christine MH-UK]

I used no fertility drugs and made sure to get lots of omega 3 during pregnancy. My doctor thinks the cancer had probably had started before the pregnancy.

I do worry about the mets risk, but two and a half years out, I am o.k.

[Tracy]

My last pregnancy was October of 1994.....dx November 2005.

[lu ann]

I was diagnosed with B.C. 8 months after my youngest daughter was born. I remember the surgeon saying that they used to think the prognosis was poorer when women are pregnant when they are diagnosed.

There was also contraversy about when to have biopsy or mastectomy in the womans menstrual cycle. I forget when the best time for surgery was supposed to be, but I think I remember I had mine at the wrong time.

I have also read that abortions done in the first trimester can also cause B.C. It had something to do with the breast cells being immature and the radical change in the tissue caused by the abortion. These changes could also occure with misscarriage in the first trimester.

My mother claims the dry-up pills they gave her to dry-up her milk after she had her children caused her to have breast cancer.

There are so many variables you could make yourself crazy about it. If we only knew what our lives were going to be, I don't think any of us would get out of the bed in the morning.

Love and Blessings
Lu Ann

[PatS]

I was diag. stage 3 at age 40 and have never been pregnant.

[athena453]

I do not have any children. I have been pg once, about 3 years pre-dx.

[Gina]

We have been boucing around a hypothesis about folks who are negative blood carrying a positive blood child tend to have more incidences of her-2 mediated illness than the mean. Did any of your get the rhogam shot while pregnant if you had negative blood and were carrying a positive child???

Just wondering as there could be some connection. We have one gal on the board who gave birth to same blood children, but only got her-2 after giving birth to her last child which was opposite type from her.

So it can go the other way...you can be positive blooded carrying a negative blooded child (but would not require rhogam in this case) and still be in a higher percentage category to come down with her-2 mediated disease than the mean of women always carrying same blood type children)...this is the hypothesis...not proven, you understand...still would be interesting to note of the women who had pregnancies and then her-2 dx, how many carried a child of the opposite blood type than they themselves were..this would equally apply for miscarriages and abortions..too, fyi.

I was A negative blood carrying an A positive child. I also received the rhogam shot early in the pregnancy and upon deliver, and I always felt that my pregnancy was somehow involved in the eventual dx. (I had a c-section).

I, too, while breast feeding, had pain in the same area of my right breast that would eventually be dx with the 5cm ER-PR- her-2+++ tumor, fyi. It would also be interesting to know of all the folks pregnant with the her-2 Dx afterwards..how many breast fed?? I breast fed my son for about 6 months. I was dx with bc several years later, but the breast bothered me from the time I breast fed on...originally, the obgyn said it was just a common breast infection from lactating ducts clogging and when I stopped breast feeding the pain subsided, only to return in the same place a few years later, but this time as full blown breast cancer.

I have read that one possible connection may also have something to do with hiatal hernias which are very common during pregnancy. Any of you folks get those while pregnant?? I did. Interestingly, the site of the opening was less than one cm from the eventual site of the breast tumor and remains the same site where I have one single sternum breast bone met to this day..sighh....

Thanks,
Gina

[Rozebud]

I was also pregnant when diagnosed. I have talked to a lot of pregnant women and there are also several on the YSC web site. Less than half are her2 positive. I agree with the previous poster that it seems like more than pregnant women's fair share are her2+, but it's because it's so much more common in young women. I read somewhere once that in women under 40 who are diagnosed with breast cancer, 25% are either pregnant or within a few years of having a baby. Well, if you think about it.....with women under 40, likely 25% of them in general are either pregnant or a few years post partum at any given time, so that's not really out of line. If 40% of women under 40 are her2 positive, then it would seem like there are many more her2+ pregnant women than the rest of the population.

[angelwings]

i was wondering if there is any link between breastfeeding and breast cancer. i have heard many things about it and just wanted to have a clearer picture.i posted a link here about breast feeding and BC, here it is:
http://www.imsickofbeingfat.com/foru...t-feeding.html
is it true to say that breast feeding can help to reduce risks of getting BC?

[R.B.]

Developing infants are hungry for DHA.

It is reported that they will even deplete their mothers brain. (a suggested factor for post natal depression)

There is suggestion that BC risk is as a minimum significantly reduced by balancing the omega threes and sixes and adequeate intake manifacture of the long chain omega threes. ( A french trial showed that women in with highest third DHA etc in sample had 69% less chance of excised tumour being cancerous in nature).

So if baby has drained your DHA your levels could be low.

Most diets are high in omega sixes and low in omega threes. Rations of omega three to six are 1-20 to 1-50 instead of 1:1 - range figures being quoted for US

Add to this high consumption of trans fats. (which are reported to have a number of possible impacts including blocking the fat elongation pathways eg making DAH and EPA), less efficent in brain etc (ingoring the unknown impact of fats unknown to body)

You might like to search this site from omega three and six - click on search above and enter term.

A book Smart Fats by M Schmidt (or updated version) deal with the need for fats in pregnancy both by mother and child, trans fats etc. (VERY highly recommeded for a few dollars second hand in the interests of both offspring and mothers).

I am just going through this book for a second time, underlining checking references and relating to my own reading etc and am truly saddened that where trials highlight potential serious effects money is not put into reaserch to get an definative answer. We are the experimental fats generations. Even worse trials suggest effects may be in some degree cumalative between generations.

I have not see an direct reserch on the topic of BC fats and pregnancy.

It would be easy enough to do - take tissue fat biopsies from breast stomach and buttock from BC subjects and non BC subjects, analyse and follow at intervals on a long term basis.

There is nothing to be lost by balancing the omega threes and sixes, ensuring adequate DHA and EPA, and cutting out trans fats and everything to gain.

There are one or two side effects blood thinning etc, and so medical advice should be sort before significant dietary change.

You might like to look at the post on the Greek diet.

The more I read the more I am convinced balancing the omega threes sixes getting adequate EPA DHA is the largest factor underlying this ever growing level of western disease (together with general diet which is interlinked).

RB

[R.B.]

Heres a link to some trials on fats and pregnancy.

RB


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...ngen+pregnancy

[cathy34]

I know going into the PG there was no lump in my right breast. I thought it was a clogged milk duct. I gave birth to my daughter in Aug 2003 and was Dx in April 04, about 3 months after I stopped breast feeding her.
I think there is some sort of connection between PG and HER2+++ breast cancer.

Cathy 34

[lu ann]

I think this post was her last 03/05/2006. She wrote about taking rhogam shots. I think I had 2 shots as I have negative blood and I have 2 children with positive blood. Blessings, Lu Ann.