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Astrocytoma in pregnancy
Last reviewed: 04.07.2025
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Astrocytoma, especially its malignant variants, is more often diagnosed in middle-aged and older male patients. But more often does not mean always. There are cases of the disease in women as well. The difference in statistics is most likely related to professional activity, since men work in potentially hazardous industries more often than women, and they could also receive a certain dose of radiation during their military service. There are a number of cases in the literature describing pregnant women with astrocytoma that were detected before pregnancy or recently diagnosed during pregnancy [ 1 ], [ 2 ].
Causes astrocytomas in pregnancy
The weaker sex has its own, purely female factor, predisposing to many diseases and exacerbations of existing ones. This is pregnancy. The relationship between the development of astrocytomas and pregnancy remains to be clarified. Several previous studies have reported that the development of gliomas during pregnancy may depend on many factors, including hormonal [ 5 ], growth factors [ 6 ] and changes in hemodynamics [ 7 ] associated with pregnancy.
The radical hormonal restructuring of the body over several months does not pass without a trace, weakening the body of the expectant mother, making it more vulnerable to pathogens. And although pregnancy, from the point of view of scientists, cannot be considered a cause of tumors, as well as unbalanced nutrition, but hormonal imbalance along with a deficiency of nutrients is a serious blow to the immune system, which can provoke its weakening or inadequate behavior.
Astrocytoma during pregnancy can begin to actively progress if it appeared earlier, but was not noticed. This happens in 75% of cases, and the placenta is to blame, as an organ that stimulates the production of hormones.
By the way, pregnancy in the first 3-5 years after treatment of cancer can be considered as a risk factor for relapse of the disease or the appearance of a tumor in a different location against the background of an existing predisposition.
How the tumor will grow depends on its nature, hereditary predisposition, the age of the expectant mother, and some other factors. For example, doctors associate many health disorders in expectant mothers with fluid retention in the body (low physical activity, high load on the kidneys, hormonal imbalance, etc.). [ 8 ]
Symptoms astrocytomas in pregnancy
But these are all assumptions, and it is often not so important for a pregnant woman to know the cause of the disease. A much more pressing issue is how to recognize the disease at an early stage of its development so that treatment can be done with fewer losses, because radiation and chemotherapy for the expectant mother is the need to terminate the pregnancy and an actual refusal to become a mother, at least in the near future. When it comes to cancer, doctors first of all try to save the woman herself, if they see even the slightest possibility.
It should be said that diagnosing brain tumors during pregnancy is very difficult. The non-specificity of the first signs of the disease against the background of toxicosis and other symptoms of pregnancy is even more striking. Headaches, nausea, vomiting, dizziness - these are signs that are familiar to many of those who have carried a child. Many attribute headaches to anxiety, natural in this situation, but if the symptom remains for a long time, appearing mainly in the morning hours with the slightest load, it is worth understanding its causes more carefully.
Nausea and vomiting are symptoms of toxicosis known to many, but they are also signs of brain disease. In expectant mothers, toxicosis usually appears in the first trimester of pregnancy, less often - at a later stage (in this case, monitoring by specialists is required). The second trimester is characterized by relative calm. However, cases are not so rare when nausea and vomiting haunt a woman during all months, and here it is especially difficult to understand what causes them.
It is worth paying attention to the fact that vomiting in brain tumors, like headaches, usually appears in the morning, before eating. In addition, in the case of brain astrocytoma, this symptom is not associated with food at all.
As for dizziness, which is more typical for cerebellar tumors, although patients with other tumor localizations may experience a similar condition, the “normal” symptom is somewhat easier to distinguish from the pathological one. Dizziness during pregnancy does not happen so often (it may be one of the manifestations of toxicosis, occurring in a mild form) and does not last long. It may be a reaction to a smell, steam, sudden movement, etc. If dizziness does not go away for a long time and is accompanied by visual doubling of objects, fog in the eyes, flickering of bright flashes, it is necessary to undergo an examination to identify the cause of the symptom.
Back pain is not uncommon in expectant mothers. The same symptom is characteristic of spinal cord astrocytoma or osteochondrosis. But it is worth paying attention to its localization. During pregnancy, women complain of pain in the lower back and lower thoracic region, which is quite natural in the later stages and is associated with the growth of the fetus. The appearance of pain in the cervical and upper thoracic region usually has another cause, which should be found out as soon as possible. The same should be done if back pain appeared in the early stages and is combined with headaches, nausea, vomiting, muscle weakness, decreased sensitivity of the body, movement disorders.
Usually, during pregnancy, despite some inconveniences, a woman experiences some kind of internal uplift. Apathy, excessive sleepiness, rapid fatigue (especially in the early stages), depression during this period can be considered an uncharacteristic symptom indicating disorders, including mental disorders. Forgetfulness and inattention of the expectant mother against this background should not be justified by a girl's memory and absent-mindedness. Perhaps this is a symptom of a brain disease that has affected mental functions, because a tumor can both squeeze the brain and irreversibly destroy its cells (in the case of a malignant nature).
Treatment astrocytomas in pregnancy
Clinical decision making in astrocytoma during pregnancy remains a major challenge for the treating team. [ 9 ]
As for treatment, in case of tumors it is surgical regardless of the nature of the neoplasm. In case of slowly growing benign tumors, surgery can be done after childbirth, but if the disease progresses, it is better not to wait long, because a large tumor does not go without consequences for the woman herself, and she will still need to raise and care for the child.
In the case of a malignant tumor, doctors are categorical: it is necessary to terminate the pregnancy and begin treatment as soon as possible, which involves surgical removal of the tumor, radiation and chemotherapy, which are incompatible with bearing a child [ 10 ]. A successful pregnancy and childbirth after chemotherapy with temozolomide and radiation therapy for multiform glioblastoma has been described [ 11 ]. Cases where women refused surgery in favor of childbirth usually ended tragically - the death of women either during childbirth or a few days later. The lost time and the great strain on the body during pregnancy and labor took their toll.