Guideline Video

Guideline Resources

  • Cancer in Pregnancy
  • Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine
  • March 12, 2026
  • Summary
  • Full-text

Video Transcription

Just published March 12th, 2026, the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine’s newest consensus document on Cancer in Pregnancy.

The objective of this document is to aid clinicians by summarizing the principles of diagnosing cancer in pregnancy and counseling patients about their reproductive and treatment options. It provides current, evidence-based recommendations for the medical and obstetrical management of patients with cancer.

In today’s rapid update, we’ll just be going over a summary of the recommendations. For the full consensus, make sure to check it out on guidelinecentral.com

There are 14 recommendations, let’s get started. 

  • The document suggests that ultrasonography and non-contrast magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI be used as first-line imaging techniques in the evaluation of a pregnant person with suspected cancer.
  • Although non-contrast MRI and ultrasonography are first-line diagnostic imaging modalities in pregnancy, the document recommends that computed tomography, or CT with or without contrast, gadolinium contrast for MRI, and fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography plus CT not be withheld from a pregnant person if clinically indicated.
  • The document recommends initiating thromboprophylaxis for all patients with active hematological or gynecological cancers during pregnancy and considering thromboprophylaxis for all patients with nonhematological or nongynecological cancers during pregnancy, based on individual risk factors.
  • The document recommends that surgery for the treatment of cancer not be delayed or withheld from a pregnant patient at any gestational age in pregnancy.
  • The document recommends that chemotherapy generally be administered after 12 weeks of gestation, provided that the patient desires to continue the pregnancy and that delaying treatment until after 12 weeks of gestation is not expected to significantly change the pregnant patient's prognosis compared with initiating treatment immediately after diagnosis.
  • To improve long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes of children exposed to chemotherapy in utero, the document suggests avoiding clinician-initiated preterm delivery when possible.
  • The document recommends intravenous methylprednisolone, 62.5 mg, or oral prednisolone, 30 mg, as first-line therapy for chemotherapy-induced nausea when corticosteroids are indicated.
  • The document recommends serial fetal growth surveillance every 3–4 weeks in pregnancies with an active cancer diagnosis, regardless of treatment.
  • The document recommends initiation of antenatal fetal surveillance starting at 32 weeks of gestation in pregnancies with an active cancer diagnosis, regardless of treatment, unless indicated earlier for maternal or fetal reasons.
  • The document recommends that planned delivery prior to 37 weeks of gestation in pregnant patients with cancer generally be avoided unless indicated for medical or obstetrical reasons.
  • The document recommends that chemotherapy treatment generally be stopped by 34 weeks of gestation to allow 3–4 weeks for recovery of myelosuppression before spontaneous labor or planned delivery, except for weekly paclitaxel, which can be administered up to 35 or 36 weeks, as only 1–2 weeks are necessary for recovery before delivery.
  • The document recommends that the mode of delivery be determined by routine obstetrical indications for most patients with cancer in pregnancy.
  • The document recommends a placental pathology examination in all cases of cancer during pregnancy, regardless of cancer type or treatment.
  • The document recommends that cancer be considered as part of the differential diagnosis for pregnant patients with multiple chromosomal aneuploidies or single autosomal monosomy detected by cell-free DNA screening that is discordant with fetal findings.

And there you have it. Make sure to check out the full document from the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine and other related clinical decision support tools at guidelinecentral.com.

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