Pregnancy and Pathways to Motherhood in Oncogene-driven Lung Cancer: A Single Institution Experience

Abstract

• Limited case report data are available describing pregnancy and motherhood in oncogene-driven non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), which is likely to become more common as survival for advanced oncogene-driven NSCLC increases. We found that 50/55 of the women of child-bearing age treated at our institution for NSCLC over 2010 to 2021 had an oncogene driver. Nine of 55 (16%) were diagnosed during or within a year of pregnancy. Similar to prior reports, in our series, early pregnancies at or after diagnosis were terminated and a later pregnancy was delivered preterm to avoid fetal exposure to targeted therapy. Six of 55 women pursued having a child after initiating treatment with targeted therapy, of which two were successful via adoption and one was successful via gestational surrogate. Gestational surrogacy and adoption are thus feasible for women with oncogene-driven NSCLC. Effects of targeted therapies on pregnancy remain understudied. Patients and providers are encouraged to register cases of pregnancy in cancer in one of two available registries, either via an institution affiliated with the International Network of Cancer, Infertility and Pregnancy (see www.cancerinpregnancy.org) or direct patient contact with the Cancer and Pregnancy registry at https://cancerandpregnancy.com/.