Childbearing challenges in breast cancer survivors: a systematic review

Document Type : Review Article

Authors

1 PhD student, Department of Midwifery and Reproductive Health, Midwifery and Reproductive Health Research Center, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

2 Professor, Department of Midwifery and Reproductive Health, Midwifery and Reproductive Health Research Center, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

3 Associate Professor, Social Determinants of Health Research Center, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Karaj, Iran.

4 Assistant Professor, Department of Radiation Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Yazd Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.

5 Professor, Department of Biostatistics, School of Allied Medical Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

Introduction: One of the reproductive health challenges in breast cancer survivors is desire to childbearing that is influenced by many medical and non-medical factors. The social determinants of health are non-medical factors that affect fertility and breast cancer. This study was performed with aim to investigate mediating determinants of childbearing in breast cancer surviving women.
Methods: This systematic review study was conducted based on the PRISMA checklist by searching four databases of Pubmed, Web of Science, Embase, and Scopus using the Mesh and Emtree standardized keywords including breast neoplasm, survivorship, social determinants of health, reproductive behavior, fertility intention, and their Persian equivalents and their possible combinations in the period of 2008-2023.
Results: In total, among the 4542 retrieved articles, 10 studies were included. Among the included studies, 7 were cross-sectional and 3 were cohort studies. Most of the studies used easy and accessible sampling method. The intermediating determinants of health that were examined in a larger number of studies were behavioral factors, biological factors, and psychological factors that were significantly associated with challenges such as increasing the desire and value of motherhood after treatment, the intention to get pregnant, feeling need to have children.
Conclusion: The mediating factors that determine childbearing issues of survived breast cancer women include: biological factors, behavioral factors, and psychosocial factors. Considering the limited number of studies conducted in this field, it is recommended to carry out more relational studies in order to accurately diagnose these components with regard to their impact on the general health of this group of women.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

  1. Mubarik S, Wang F, Fawad M, Wang Y, Ahmad I, Yu C. Trends and projections in breast cancer mortality among four Asian countries (1990–2017): evidence from five stochastic mortality models. Scientific reports 2020; 10(1):5480.
  2. Fan L, Goss PE, Strasser-Weippl K. Current status and future projections of breast cancer in Asia. Breast care. 2015 Dec 15; 10(6):372-8.
  3. Soldato D, Arecco L, Agostinetto E, Franzoi MA, Mariamidze E, Begijanashvili S, et al. The future of breast cancer research in the survivorship field. Oncology and Therapy 2023; 11(2):199-229.
  4. Akbari ME, Akbari A, Khayamzadeh M, Salmanian R, Akbari M. Ten-year survival of breast cancer in Iran: a national study (Retrospective cohort study). Breast Care 2023; 18(1):12-21.
  5. Paluch-Shimon S, Pagani O, Partridge AH, Bar-Meir E, Fallowfield L, Fenlon D, et al. Second international consensus guidelines for breast cancer in young women (BCY2). The Breast 2016; 26:87-99.
  6. Li L, Lv D, Zhai J, Zhang D, Guan X, Ma F. Breast cancer in Chinese females aged 25 years and younger. Journal of Oncology 2021; 2021(1):4891936.
  7. Co M, Kwong A. Young onset breast cancer in Southern China–a 5-year clinico-pathological study from a multi-centre database. Cancer Treatment and Research Communications 2020; 24:100182.
  8. Bayat F, Ozgoli G, Mahmoodi Z, Nasiri M. A comparative study of depression, stress, and anxiety in two groups of women with and without children: a population-based study. The Iranian Journal of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Infertility 2022; 25(7):45-58.
  9. Bártolo A, Santos IM, Guimarães R, Reis S, Monteiro S. Attentional bias toward reproduction-related stimuli and fertility concerns among breast cancer survivors. Behavioral Medicine 2022; 48(4):273-83.
  10. Anandavadivelan P, Wiklander M, Eriksson LE, Wettergren L, Lampic C. Cultural adaptation and psychometric evaluation of the Swedish version of the Reproductive Concerns After Cancer (RCAC) scale. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes 2020; 18:1-8.
  11. Qiu J, Tang L, Li P, Fu J. An investigation into the reproductive concerns of young women with breast cancer. Asia-Pacific Journal of Oncology Nursing 2022; 9(6):100055.
  12. Sharma M, Pinto AD, Kumagai AK. Teaching the social determinants of health: a path to equity or a road to nowhere?. Academic medicine 2018; 93(1):25-30.
  13. Palmer RC, Ismond D, Rodriquez EJ, Kaufman JS. Social determinants of health: future directions for health disparities research. American journal of public health 2019; 109(S1):S70-1.
  14. Ghahremani F, Doulabi MA, Mahmoodi Z, Nasiri M. The structural factors of social determinants of health on Iranian women's childbearing: a systematic review study. The Iranian Journal of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Infertility 2023; 26(2):99-118.
  15. Compton MT, Shim RS. Why employers must focus on the social determinants of mental health. American Journal of Health Promotion 2020; 34(2):215-9.
  16. NeJhaddadgar N, Ziapour A, Jafarzadeh M, Ezzati F, Rezaei F, Darabi F. Explaining barriers to childbearing using the risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) strategy: Based on action research. Health Science Reports 2023; 6(10):e1606.
  17. Sheikhian M, Loripoor M, Ghorashi Z, Safdari-Dehcheshmeh F. Relation between sexual function, perceived social support, and adherence to treatment with infertility factor in women: A cross-sectional study. International Journal of Reproductive BioMedicine 2023; 21(7):557.
  18. Luchini C, Stubbs B, Solmi M, Veronese N. Assessing the quality of studies in meta-analyses: Advantages and limitations of the Newcastle Ottawa Scale. World Journal of Meta-Analysis 2017; 5(4):80-4.
  19. Wells GA, Shea B, O’Connell D, Peterson J, Welch V, Losos M, Tugwell P. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) for assessing the quality of nonrandomised studies in meta-analyses. Ottawa Health Research Institute Web site 2014; 7.
  20. Wells GA, Shea B, O’Connell D, Peterson J, Welch V, Losos M, et al. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) for assessing the quality of nonrandomised studies in meta-analyses; 2000.
  21. Luchini C, Stubbs B, Solmi M, Veronese N. Assessing the quality of studies in meta-analyses: Advantages and limitations of the Newcastle Ottawa Scale. World Journal of Meta-Analysis 2017; 5(4):80-4.
  22. Campbell AG, Hillemeier M. Fertility counseling information adequacy as a moderator of regret among adolescent and young adult breast cancer survivors. Supportive Care in Cancer 2021; 29:2689-97.
  23. Gonçalves V, Hudson J, Canavarro MC, Morris J, Lee MC, Donovan KA, et al. Childbearing across borders: Fertility and parenthood attitudes and decisions among breast cancer survivors in USA and Portugal. The Breast 2018; 40:16-22.
  24. Benedict C, Thom B, Friedman DN, Pottenger E, Raghunathan N, Kelvin JF. Fertility information needs and concerns post-treatment contribute to lowered quality of life among young adult female cancer survivors. Supportive care in cancer 2018; 26:2209-15.
  25. Hawkins Bressler L, Mersereau JE, Anderson C, Rodriguez JL, Hodgson ME, Weinberg CR, et al. Fertility‐related experiences after breast cancer diagnosis in the Sister and Two Sister Studies. Cancer 2019; 125(15):2675-83.
  26. Lam CM, Shliakhtsitsava K, Stark SS, Medica AC, Pinson KA, Whitcomb BW, et al. Reproductive intentions in childless female adolescent and young adult cancer survivors. Fertility and sterility 2020; 113(2):392-9.
  27. Mersereau JE, Goodman LR, Deal AM, Gorman JR, Whitcomb BW, Su HI. To preserve or not to preserve: how difficult is the decision about fertility preservation?. Cancer 2013; 119(22):4044-50.
  28. Miyashita M, Ohno S, Kataoka A, Tokunaga E, Masuda N, Shien T, et al. Unmet information needs and quality of life in young breast cancer survivors in Japan. Cancer nursing 2015; 38(6):E1-11.
  29. Chin HB, Howards PP, Kramer MR, Mertens AC, Spencer JB. Which female cancer patients fail to receive fertility counseling before treatment in the state of Georgia?. Fertility and sterility 2016; 106(7):1763-71.
  30. Dominick SA, Whitcomb BW, Gorman JR, Mersereau JE, Chung K, Su HI. Factors associated with pregnancy attempts among female young adult cancer survivors. Journal of Cancer Survivorship 2014; 8:571-9.
  31. Huang SM, Tseng LM, Lai JC, Lien PJ, Chen PH. Oncofertility to Evidence‐Based Practice: Changes in Fertility Intention and Symptom Burden in Reproductive‐Age Women With Breast Cancer. Worldviews on Evidence‐Based Nursing 2019; 16(5):381-8.
  32. Zolfaghary F, MashaghiTabari R, Dezhman M, Bijani A, Kheirkha F, Adib-Rad H. Predictors of quality of life and mental health in breast cancer survivors in Northern Iran. BMC Women's Health 2023; 23(1):378.
  33. Sparidaens EM, Beerendonk CC, Fleischer K, Nelen WL, Braat DD, Hermens RP. Exploration of fertility and early menopause related information needs and development of online information for young breast cancer survivors. BMC Women's Health 2022; 22(1):329.
  34. Martens K, Ulrich GR, Ranby KW, Kilbourn K. What matters most? Predictors of quality of life and life satisfaction among young breast cancer survivors. Cancer nursing 2021; 44(6):E727-34.
  35. Bártolo A, Neves M, Carvalho B, Reis S, Valério E, Santos IM, et al. Fertility under uncertainty: exploring differences in fertility-related concerns and psychosocial aspects between breast cancer survivors and non-cancer infertile women. Breast Cancer 2020; 27:1177-86.
  36. Assogba EL, Mamguem Kamga A, Costaz H, Jankowski C, Dumas A, Roignot P, et al. What are young women living conditions after breast cancer? Health-related quality of life, sexual and fertility issues, professional reinsertion. Cancers 2020; 12(6):1564.
  37. Jäkel K, Richter D, Leuteritz K, Sender A, Hinz A. Sexuality, fertility, family planning, family life, and partnership in young breast cancer patients: a longitudinal study. Frontiers in Psychology 2023; 14:1127359.
The Iranian Journal of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Infertility
Volume 27, Issue 4
June 2024
Pages 56-70

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics