The study, conducted by scientists in Copenhagen, is a testament to Scandinavian record keeping. Using the Danish Cancer Registry and the National Birth and Induced Abortions Registries, the researchers were able to coordinate the databases to find 5,725 women of childbearing age who had been treated for breast cancer and examine their reproductive histories. Taking into consideration such factors as age at diagnosis and tumor size, the scientists found that the 84 women who went through full-term pregnancies actually showed a slightly decreased rate of mortality than those who did not become pregnant.
Critics of the study caution that it couldn’t account for every variable, and that the sample is small. But author Niels Kroman is heartened by the results: ““I’m happy we found this trend toward reduced risk, because it means the chance that we could have overlooked an increased risk is very, very small.’’ For cancer patients, that could be very, very reassuring.
