Pregnancy Achieved Using Donor Eggs in Cancer Survivors with Treatment-Induced Ovarian Failure: Obstetric and Perinatal Outcome

Background: Egg donation is a common fertility treatment in female cancer survivors with reproductive wish and iatrogenic ovarian failure. We examined whether women previously treated for cancer have a higher risk of pregnancy complications after egg donation treatments when compared to women without cancer history.

Methods: In this prospective cohort treated during 2003-2015 at a single center, 31 women with previous history of cancer achieved 25 deliveries and 212 women without cancer history achieved 244 deliveries. All egg donor treatments were performed with a strict policy of single embryo transfer to reduce pregnancy and perinatal complications. Data were analyzed using logistic regression with adjustment for relevant confounders, to estimate adjusted odds ratios (aORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for perinatal and obstetric outcomes. Women without previous history of cancer were used as the reference group in the regression models.

Results: Women with a history of cancer presented with a significantly increased risk of pregnancy complications, including preterm birth (aOR 5.54, 95% CI 2.01-15.31) and preeclampsia (aOR 2.79, 95% CI 1.07-7.34), compared to women without cancer history.

Conclusions: The findings of this study suggest that the risks of preterm birth and preeclampsia in women with prior cancers who become pregnant by egg donor treatment significantly exceed those of women without cancer history undergoing similar treatments. As pregnancies using donor eggs are already acknowledged of higher risk for hypertensive pathologies, this study alerts toward characterization of specific increased risks in women who are cancer survivors to provide adapted pregnancy monitoring.