Recent Advance and Challenges in Diagnosis of Breast Carcinoma in Pregnant Ladies and Lactating Mothers from Human Milk: A Future Prospective
Abstract: Breast cancer (BC) is a cancer that occurs when breast cell transforms into malignant cells that grow and transform into tumors. Human milk is the milk that gets secreted from the female's mammary glands due to stimulation of prolactin hormones during a few months of pregnancy and after childbirth. In comparison to other types of breast cancer, breast cancer that develops during pregnancy (PrBC) and after childbirth (PPBC) is typically identified at a later stage, which worsens the prognosis so early detection is mandatory to reduce the mortality rates and its risks. Pregnancy-associated breast cancer (PABC) is commonly defined as a breast cancer occurring during pregnancy, throughout one year postpartum, or during lactation. PABC affects about 1 in 3000 pregnant women, representing about 7% of all BCs in women under 45 years old, 10% in women under 40, and rising to 15.6% in women under 35aged. The reported incidence of PABC is 15-35 per 100,000 deliveries, and it is higher in the postpartum period, with the great majority of cases detected within six months postpartum. This review paper will help us to gain knowledge on early breast cancer in accepting mothers as well as lactating mothers as early as possible using the use of cell-free tumor DNA (ctDNA) present in breast milk (BM) collected from patients with breast cancer as a new source for liquid biopsy for PPBC & PrBC detection.
Keywords: Breast milk, ctDNA, breast cancer, liquid biopsy, PPBC detection
How to Cite?: Sarbari Saha, "Recent Advance and Challenges in Diagnosis of Breast Carcinoma in Pregnant Ladies and Lactating Mothers from Human Milk: A Future Prospective", Volume 15 Issue 10, October 2026, International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), Pages: 1254-1257, https://www.ijsr.net/getabstract.php?paperid=SR261003104516, DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.21275/SR261003104516