Doctors Successfully Remove Rare Aggressive Breast Tumour in a 26-Week Pregnant Woman, Protecting Both Mother and Baby

Talegaon, Pune: In a remarkable example of multidisciplinary cancer care, a team led by Dr. Utkarsh Ajgaonkar, Consultant Surgical Oncologist,  Dr. Madhura, Assistant Surgeon and anaesthesia team led by Dr. Vishvas Koul, Head of Anesthesia & Critical Care, TGH OncoLife Cancer Centre successfully performed a life-saving right mastectomy on a 27-year-old woman who was 26 weeks pregnant after diagnosing her with high-grade sarcoma of the breast, a rare and aggressive form of breast cancer. The medical team successfully treated the mother while ensuring the safety of her unborn baby without terminating the pregnancy. 

Patient Mrs. Soni Kumari, a 27-year-old tailor from Lonavala, was happily looking forward to welcoming her second child when a frightening health crisis overshadowed her joy. Nearly six months earlier, she had noticed a lump in her right breast but ignored it, assuming it was a normal pregnancy-related change while focusing on her family and pregnancy. When she developed a persistent fever for a week, and the wound became increasingly difficult to manage, her family rushed her to TGH OncoLife Cancer Centre around three weeks ago. What initially seemed like a neglected breast lump turned out to be breast cancer, putting both the young mother's life and her unborn baby's future at risk.

Dr. Utkarsh Ajgaonkar, Consultant Surgical Oncologist, TGH OncoLife Cancer Centre, said, “The patient came to us with a rapidly enlarging breast tumour, a large infected wound measuring nearly 8 × 8 cm, and persistent fever. A biopsy confirmed a high-grade sarcoma of the breast, a rare and aggressive cancer. The exact cause of this rare breast sarcoma is usually idiopathic, meaning it develops without any identifiable cause.  Breast sarcomas account for less than 1% of all breast cancers, and encountering this tumour during pregnancy is extraordinarily uncommon. The infection had progressed significantly, and there was a real risk that it could spread into the bloodstream, leading to sepsis or septic shock, which could have threatened both the mother's life and the pregnancy. While chemotherapy is often considered for many cancers, it has a very limited role in this type of sarcoma, making surgery the only life-saving option. At the same time, pregnancy limited the use of several diagnostic investigations, including PET scans and other radiation-based imaging, making clinical judgment even more critical."

Dr. Utkarsh Ajgaonkar further added, “After extensive discussions with the patient and her family, our multidisciplinary team carefully planned every step of her treatment. The priority was to remove the source of infection before it progressed to life-threatening sepsis, while ensuring the pregnancy continued safely. To prevent sepsis,  she underwent a right mastectomy on 2nd July, a surgery to remove the affected breast, as a life-saving procedure. The surgery was completed successfully within one hour, with continuous monitoring of the unborn baby and meticulous anaesthetic management to maintain the safety of both mother and child. One of the biggest challenges was to minimise the duration of surgery and anaesthesia to reduce the risk of fetal distress or premature delivery. The patient recovered well and was discharged in stable condition on July 4. Her antibiotics have been discontinued, and she will be closely monitored by our multidisciplinary team. She has  attended two follow-up visits, where both the mother and the unborn baby were found to be doing well.”

Dr. Vishvas Koul, Head of Anaesthesia & Critical Care, TGH OncoLife Cancer Centre, said, "Providing anaesthesia to a pregnant woman undergoing major cancer surgery is highly challenging because the well-being of both the mother and the unborn baby must be protected simultaneously. Throughout the surgery, we continuously monitored the baby's condition while carefully maintaining the mother's blood pressure, oxygen levels, and overall stability. Close coordination between the anaesthesia, surgical, obstetric, and neonatal teams was crucial in ensuring a safe outcome."