Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39169531›Full record

ArticleBJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology2025

Procedural abortion, provider-initiated preterm delivery and survival in pregnant people with cancer: A population-based cohort study.

Amy Metcalfe, Zoe F Cairncross, Joel G Ray, Lorraine Shack, Gregg Nelson, Christine M Friedenreich, Khokan Sikdar, Sarka Lisonkova, Carly A McMorris, Parveen Bhatti and 1 more

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Article in BJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Amy MetcalfeDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medicine, and Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4449-9256
Zoe F CairncrossDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Joel G RayDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Lorraine ShackDepartment of Oncology and Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Gregg NelsonDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Christine M FriedenreichDepartment of Oncology and Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Khokan SikdarDepartment of Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Sarka LisonkovaDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Carly A McMorrisWerklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Parveen BhattiCancer Control Research, BC Cancer, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Deshayne B FellSchool of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Funding

CIHR MY2-155363
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo assess whether procedural-induced abortion or provider-initiated preterm delivery are associated with improved survival in pregnant people with cancer.

designRetrospective population-based cohort study.

settingProvinces of Alberta and Ontario, Canada, 2003-2016. POPULATION: Females aged 18-50 years diagnosed with cancer at <20 weeks' (for the assessment of procedural-induced abortion) or <37 weeks' gestation (for the assessment of provider-initiated delivery).

methodsCox proportional hazard models assessed all-cause mortality in relation to procedural-induced abortion and provider-initiated preterm delivery, adjusting for cancer site, stage at diagnosis and age. Meta-analysis pooled the results across both provinces.

main outcome measuresAll cause mortality.

resultsThere were 512 pregnant people diagnosed with cancer at <20 weeks' gestation and 782 diagnosed with cancer at <37 weeks' gestation. Neither procedural-induced abortion (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] = 1.39, 95% CI: 0.32-6.17) nor provider-initiated preterm delivery (aHR = 1.17, 95% CI: 0.76-1.81) were associated with improved survival following adjustment for age, stage at diagnosis and cancer site.

conclusionsNeither procedural-induced abortion nor provider-initiated preterm birth was associated with improved survival in pregnant people diagnosed with cancer; however, these obstetric interventions are highly personal decisions best decided by the pregnant person in consultation with their care providers.

Indexed as

Abortion, InducedPregnancy Complications, NeoplasticPremature BirthAdolescentAdultAlbertaCohort StudiesFemaleHumansMiddle AgedNeoplasmsOntarioPregnancyProportional Hazards ModelsRetrospective StudiesYoung Adultcancerinduced abortioninterventionspregnancypreterm deliverysurvival

Identifiers

PMID39169531
PMCPMC11612611

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.