Chemotherapy in pregnancy does not cause developmental problems

Chemotherapy during pregnancy does not cause developmental problems in children, a study has found.

The research, presented to the 2011 European Multidisciplinary Cancer Congress and undertaken by oncologists in Belgium, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic, followed 70 children from 68 pregnancies, in which the mother had undergone chemotherapy.

They found that children, aging from 18 months to 18 years, were unaffected by the experience in terms of the development of their mental processes and the normal functioning of their hearts.

However, 47 of those pregnancies ended in premature birth and researchers found that this prematurity did affect cognitive development significantly.

"We believe these results do allow us to make a recommendation about chemotherapy in pregnancy: pregnant women with cancer do not need to delay their cancer treatment or terminate their pregnancy. The benefits of chemotherapy to the mothers outweigh any potential long-term harm to the children," said Professor Frederic Amant, gynaecological oncologist at the University Hospitals Leuven.