Is it OK to have kids after breast cancer? Study says it's much safer

New Delhi: A new study suggests that pregnancy after a breast cancer may be much safer than previously thought.

The study carried out by the Jules Bordet Institute in Brussels, Belgium, found that women who became pregnant after an early breast cancer diagnosis, including those with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive tumors, did not have a higher chance of cancer recurrence and death than those who did not become pregnant.

For the study, researchers looked at 1,207 women under age 50 who were diagnosed with non-metastatic breast cancer before 2008.

"Having a family is one of the most important achievements in a person's life," said study leader Dr Matteo Lambertini of the Jules Bordet Institute in Brussels, Belgium. These results show that "pregnancy after breast cancer can be considered safe."

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women of reproductive age. Of all cancer survivors, breast cancer survivors are the least likely to have a baby after diagnosis.

According tot the authors, this is the largest study to investigate the safety of pregnancy after breast cancer and the only to address this question specifically in women with ER-positive breast cancer (the most common type of breast cancer).