Breast cancers that emerge within five years of giving birth are more likely to spread and become deadly. Additionally, a new study shows that recent childbirth alone is an independent risk factor for breast cancer progression.

The findings suggest that current clinical guidelines, which don't factor in postpartum status, are less able to accurately predict the risk of cancer recurrence and guide optimal treatment strategies in young patients.

"This has profound implications for prognosis," said senior author Pepper Schedin, Ph.D., professor of cell, developmental and cancer biology in the OHSU School of Medicine and OHSU Knight Cancer Institute. "A postpartum diagnosis can move women who appear to have good prognosis into a high-risk category."

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