[Breast screening in women considering pregnancy]

Breast cancer is the most frequent malignant tumor in pregnancy, with a prognosis that is made worse due to the delay at diagnosis; moreover, because of the current tendencies to delay the age of a pregnancy, its incidence is destined to increase. Our purpose was to optimize breast screening for women attempting to become pregnant in order to avoid the delay of breast cancer diagnosis with a preconceptional individual screening program. The greatest problems of pregnancy associated breast cancer, the various categories of risk, and the methods of screening for breast cancer have been analysed. A breast screening program for women attempting to become pregnant has been worked out; this program determines a clinical examination and mammography on the basis of predetermined category of risk, aside from age. The diagnostic difficulties that pregnancy associated breast cancer presents, must motivate the obstetrician to include breast screening among preconceptional exams and to conclude the diagnostic and if necessary therapeutic iter before the beginning of pregnancy; it is useful to this end, to consider the decision of the screening on the basis of the age of the patient and of the categories of risk.