Risk factors for the increasing incidence of pregnancy‐associated cancer in Sweden – a population‐based study

Abstract Introduction The incidence of cancer during pregnancy and within first year post‐delivery, ie pregnancy‐associated cancer (PAC), is increasing in many countries, but little is known about risk factors for these trends. This study quantified incidence of PAC by trimesters and post‐delivery p...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Frida E. Lundberg, Hanne Stensheim, Gustav J. Ullenhag, Hanna Milerad Sahlgren, Kristina Lindemann, Irma Fredriksson, Anna L. V. Johansson
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2024-04-01
Series:Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1111/aogs.14677
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849422734980808704
author Frida E. Lundberg
Hanne Stensheim
Gustav J. Ullenhag
Hanna Milerad Sahlgren
Kristina Lindemann
Irma Fredriksson
Anna L. V. Johansson
author_facet Frida E. Lundberg
Hanne Stensheim
Gustav J. Ullenhag
Hanna Milerad Sahlgren
Kristina Lindemann
Irma Fredriksson
Anna L. V. Johansson
author_sort Frida E. Lundberg
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Introduction The incidence of cancer during pregnancy and within first year post‐delivery, ie pregnancy‐associated cancer (PAC), is increasing in many countries, but little is known about risk factors for these trends. This study quantified incidence of PAC by trimesters and post‐delivery periods, and assessed the role of maternal age, parity, immigrant status, education, smoking and body mass index for the risk and incidence trends of PAC. Material and methods We used data from the national birth and cancer registers in Sweden during 1973–2017 to define a register‐based cohort of women aged 15–44 years. Incidence rates of PAC during pregnancy and up to 1 year post‐delivery were calculated per 100 000 deliveries per year. Poisson regression with multiple imputation estimated incidence rate ratios with 95% confidence intervals adjusted by year, age, previous parity, immigrant status, education, smoking and BMI during 1990–2017, when information on risk factors was available. Results Among 4 557 284 deliveries, a total of 1274 (during pregnancy) and 3355 (within 1 year post‐delivery) cases of PAC were diagnosed, with around 50 cases/year diagnosed during pregnancy and 110 cases/year during the first year post‐delivery in the latest period 2015–2017. The most common cancer types during pregnancy were malignant melanoma, breast and cervical cancer, together accounting for 57% of cases during pregnancy and 53% during the first year post‐delivery. The numbers of PAC were lower during pregnancy than during post‐delivery for all tumor types with lowest numbers during first trimester. The PAC incidence rates increased over calendar time. High maternal age at diagnosis, smoking, nulliparity and non‐immigrant background were associated with significantly higher risks of PAC. The increasing PAC incidence was in part explained by higher maternal age over time, but not by the other factors. Conclusions High maternal age is the strongest risk factor for PAC. We show for the first time that smoking, nulliparity and non‐immigrant background are also contributing risk factors for PAC. However, only high maternal age contributed significantly to the increasing incidence. Further studies on other potential risk factors for PAC are warranted, since our results indicate that age on its own does not fully explain the increase.
format Article
id doaj-art-5dac4144371b4ea39dbf9b5c7f3f27dd
institution Kabale University
issn 0001-6349
1600-0412
language English
publishDate 2024-04-01
publisher Wiley
record_format Article
series Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica
spelling doaj-art-5dac4144371b4ea39dbf9b5c7f3f27dd2025-08-20T03:30:56ZengWileyActa Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica0001-63491600-04122024-04-01103466968310.1111/aogs.14677Risk factors for the increasing incidence of pregnancy‐associated cancer in Sweden – a population‐based studyFrida E. Lundberg0Hanne Stensheim1Gustav J. Ullenhag2Hanna Milerad Sahlgren3Kristina Lindemann4Irma Fredriksson5Anna L. V. Johansson6Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics Karolinska Institutet Stockholm SwedenCancer Registry of Norway Oslo NorwayDepartment of Oncology Uppsala University Hospital Uppsala SwedenDepartment of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics Karolinska Institutet Stockholm SwedenDepartment of Gynecological Oncology Oslo University Hospital Oslo NorwayDepartment of Molecular Medicine and Surgery Karolinska Institutet Stockholm SwedenDepartment of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics Karolinska Institutet Stockholm SwedenAbstract Introduction The incidence of cancer during pregnancy and within first year post‐delivery, ie pregnancy‐associated cancer (PAC), is increasing in many countries, but little is known about risk factors for these trends. This study quantified incidence of PAC by trimesters and post‐delivery periods, and assessed the role of maternal age, parity, immigrant status, education, smoking and body mass index for the risk and incidence trends of PAC. Material and methods We used data from the national birth and cancer registers in Sweden during 1973–2017 to define a register‐based cohort of women aged 15–44 years. Incidence rates of PAC during pregnancy and up to 1 year post‐delivery were calculated per 100 000 deliveries per year. Poisson regression with multiple imputation estimated incidence rate ratios with 95% confidence intervals adjusted by year, age, previous parity, immigrant status, education, smoking and BMI during 1990–2017, when information on risk factors was available. Results Among 4 557 284 deliveries, a total of 1274 (during pregnancy) and 3355 (within 1 year post‐delivery) cases of PAC were diagnosed, with around 50 cases/year diagnosed during pregnancy and 110 cases/year during the first year post‐delivery in the latest period 2015–2017. The most common cancer types during pregnancy were malignant melanoma, breast and cervical cancer, together accounting for 57% of cases during pregnancy and 53% during the first year post‐delivery. The numbers of PAC were lower during pregnancy than during post‐delivery for all tumor types with lowest numbers during first trimester. The PAC incidence rates increased over calendar time. High maternal age at diagnosis, smoking, nulliparity and non‐immigrant background were associated with significantly higher risks of PAC. The increasing PAC incidence was in part explained by higher maternal age over time, but not by the other factors. Conclusions High maternal age is the strongest risk factor for PAC. We show for the first time that smoking, nulliparity and non‐immigrant background are also contributing risk factors for PAC. However, only high maternal age contributed significantly to the increasing incidence. Further studies on other potential risk factors for PAC are warranted, since our results indicate that age on its own does not fully explain the increase.https://doi.org/10.1111/aogs.14677breast cancercervical cancerincidencemalignant melanomapregnancypregnancy‐associated cancer
spellingShingle Frida E. Lundberg
Hanne Stensheim
Gustav J. Ullenhag
Hanna Milerad Sahlgren
Kristina Lindemann
Irma Fredriksson
Anna L. V. Johansson
Risk factors for the increasing incidence of pregnancy‐associated cancer in Sweden – a population‐based study
Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica
breast cancer
cervical cancer
incidence
malignant melanoma
pregnancy
pregnancy‐associated cancer
title Risk factors for the increasing incidence of pregnancy‐associated cancer in Sweden – a population‐based study
title_full Risk factors for the increasing incidence of pregnancy‐associated cancer in Sweden – a population‐based study
title_fullStr Risk factors for the increasing incidence of pregnancy‐associated cancer in Sweden – a population‐based study
title_full_unstemmed Risk factors for the increasing incidence of pregnancy‐associated cancer in Sweden – a population‐based study
title_short Risk factors for the increasing incidence of pregnancy‐associated cancer in Sweden – a population‐based study
title_sort risk factors for the increasing incidence of pregnancy associated cancer in sweden a population based study
topic breast cancer
cervical cancer
incidence
malignant melanoma
pregnancy
pregnancy‐associated cancer
url https://doi.org/10.1111/aogs.14677
work_keys_str_mv AT fridaelundberg riskfactorsfortheincreasingincidenceofpregnancyassociatedcancerinswedenapopulationbasedstudy
AT hannestensheim riskfactorsfortheincreasingincidenceofpregnancyassociatedcancerinswedenapopulationbasedstudy
AT gustavjullenhag riskfactorsfortheincreasingincidenceofpregnancyassociatedcancerinswedenapopulationbasedstudy
AT hannamileradsahlgren riskfactorsfortheincreasingincidenceofpregnancyassociatedcancerinswedenapopulationbasedstudy
AT kristinalindemann riskfactorsfortheincreasingincidenceofpregnancyassociatedcancerinswedenapopulationbasedstudy
AT irmafredriksson riskfactorsfortheincreasingincidenceofpregnancyassociatedcancerinswedenapopulationbasedstudy
AT annalvjohansson riskfactorsfortheincreasingincidenceofpregnancyassociatedcancerinswedenapopulationbasedstudy