Case Report
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Apr 26, 2021; 9(12): 2923-2929
Published online Apr 26, 2021. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v9.i12.2923
Congenital bilateral cryptorchidism in an infant conceived after maternal breast cancer treatment: A case report
Wei-Kai Hu, Jing Liu, Rui-Xia Liu, Xiao-Wei Liu, Cheng-Hong Yin
Wei-Kai Hu, Cheng-Hong Yin, Department of Internal Medicine, Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100026, China
Jing Liu, Xiao-Wei Liu, Department of Obstetrics, Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100026, China
Rui-Xia Liu, Central Laboratory, Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100026, China
Author contributions: Hu WK and Liu J contributed equally to the work. Hu WK and Liu J managed, analyzed, and interpreted the patient data in this case and were major contributors in writing the manuscript; Liu XW managed and followed the patient; Yin CH was responsible for guidance; Liu RX modified and polished the article; all authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Informed consent statement: Informed written consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this report and any accompanying images.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest to disclose.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Cheng-Hong Yin, MD, Dean, Department of Internal Medicine, Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 251 Yaojiayuan Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100026, China. yinchh@ccmu.edu.cn
Received: December 18, 2020
Peer-review started: December 18, 2020
First decision: January 17, 2021
Revised: January 26, 2021
Accepted: February 22, 2021
Article in press: February 22, 2021
Published online: April 26, 2021
Abstract
BACKGROUND

The incidence of breast cancer among women of reproductive age is increasing, as well as the desire for children at late childbearing age. Identifying factors that may be associated with fetal malformation and maternal and fetal prognosis has gained importance. We describe a 32-year-old woman with breast cancer who gave birth to a son with congenital bilateral cryptorchidism after treatment, with a literature review performed.

CASE SUMMARY

A 32-year-old woman with breast cancer who had been treated by surgery and radiotherapy experienced recurrence and underwent a second surgery, adjuvant chemotherapy, and targeted therapy. Her tumor cells were negative for estrogen receptor (ER) α, progesterone receptor (PR), and p53; positive for ERβ, human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), and Ki67. She had pathogenic BRCA gene mutations. She became pregnant within 2 years and delivered a boy with congenital bilateral cryptorchidism. The boy underwent bilateral orchidopexy. As of this writing, the woman and her son are both healthy.

CONCLUSION

HER2 overexpression, positivity for EGFR, Ki67, and ER, and PR negativity are associated with a poor prognosis in breast cancer. While no link has been established statistically between treatment for breast cancer and cryptorchidism in a subsequent pregnancy, this case suggests the possibility that ERβ and gene mutations may be contributing factors.

Keywords: Pregnancy, Breast cancer, Chemotherapy, Cryptorchidism, Case report

Core Tip: The number of young premenopausal women with breast cancer is increasing and they usually have a worse prognosis. Most studies focus on therapy for breast cancer. Only a few reports are published regarding fetal malformations that occur after cancer therapy. In this article, a patient got pregnant after breast cancer treatment and her son was diagnosed with congenital bilateral cryptorchidism. We conclude that there has no established link between treatments for breast cancer and cryptorchidism. Estrogen receptor β and gene mutations may be related to bilateral cryptorchidism.