Assisted Reproductive Technology, Pregnancy, and Recurrent Disease in Melanoma Patients: A 30-Year Single Institution Experience

Objectives: The primary aim of this study was to assess differences in melanoma recurrence between patients conceiving spontaneously versus those undergoing assisted reproductive technology (ART) and to determine use of ART in post-melanoma patients. A secondary aim was to describe the use of immunotherapy as a novel treatment regimen for metastatic melanoma in a cohort of fertile patients.

Design: This study is a 30-year analysis including data from a single-center questionnaire and a retrospective cohort study. Participants/Materials: Women of childbearing age with a history of melanoma were requested to participate in our study. We selected patients who underwent either primary melanoma treatment or treatment of local/distant recurrence at our institute between 1994 and 2021. Each participant received a questionnaire and informed consent form. The questions concerned general health, primary tumor characteristics, utilization of ART, subsequent pregnancies, and development of recurrent melanoma. Additional information was collected from the medical files.

Setting: The research was conducted in a dedicated oncology center and tertiary referral center for melanoma in The Netherlands.

Methods: Participants received the questionnaires by mail. Six weeks later a reminder was sent to nonresponders. Analysis was performed using descriptive statistics. For comparisons between groups, chi-square tests were used. p value was considered significant when below 0.05. A clinically relevant difference in recurrence rate was defined as a 10% difference.

Results: A total of 498 questionnaires were available for analyses, 449 from living patients and 49 from relatives of diseased patients. One hundred and seventy-nine patients (36%) with a history of melanoma became pregnant following their diagnosis. There was no difference in the recurrence rate between patients who became pregnant after the diagnosis of melanoma and those who never subsequently conceived (37% vs. 35%, p = 0.609). In the total cohort, 28 patients (6%) attempted to conceive using ART, and eight of them experienced disease recurrence. A total of 58 patients (22% of patients since 2006) were treated with immunotherapy.

Limitations: The main limitations of the study are its size, observational design, and questionnaire methodology.

Conclusions: Pregnancy did not increase the risk of recurrent melanoma. The group of patients conceiving after ART was small, and therefore, it is difficult to confidently conclude that the recurrence risk is comparable to the other groups. Prospective international registration of these patients, their oncologic follow-up and possible use of assisted reproduction, will provide valuable information to determine any potential association between ART and risk of recurrent melanoma. This would enable health professionals to develop surveillance strategies and preconception counseling of patients wishing to conceive.