Pregnancy after Granulosa cell tumor?

I am 36 years old. I have had two surgery's because of a granulosa Cell tumor in one ovary, it was stage 2c. Everything has been removed, my doctor told me. But the chance of recurrence is big because of the stage 2c. I still have the right ovary and utures so it's possible to have children. But now my doctor says a pregnancy may have an influence on a recurrence , that the tumor will come back sooner because of that. I read about more cases of Granulosa CT after IVF  (1993) but other articles say it's because of the infertility those women got GCT. Not because of the IVF. Does any-one know anything about a negative influence of a pregancy on a recurrence of Granulosa Cell tumor?

[Heloni]

I am 36 years old, and I have been diagnosed with Granulosa Cell Tumor 2b.  6 moths ago I had a tumor rupture and they removed one ovary.  I still have granulosa cells in the lining.
My doctor is all for pregnancy and we are trying (I have never had any children).  She says that it may help slow the growth down till after I am done having children, then have a hysterectomy.  She sounds very positive and confident.

[ChrisP2236]

You might try asking this question on the ovca.net website - http://www.ovca.net/ .  They have a granulosa cell tumor thread on their discussion board and it is quite active - http://www.ovca.net/forum/topic.cfm?threadid=9603&messages=54.  Many of the people who post there have dealt with this form of ovca for years and are quite knowledgeable.  Some are in the medical profession themselves and share a wealth of information.  I think a lot depends on whether your tumor was estrogen or testosterone receptive - pregnancy produces hormones that could increase your risk of recurrance.  Are you having your inhibin levels monitored? I was dx with gct 1c but didn't need to worry about pregnancy as I've already got grandkids.  I'd research this a lot more before I risked a pregnancy - a baby is nice, but not if you are too busy dealing with a recurrance to be an involved parent.  Good luck, ChrisP

[sandra71]

Me again. Well the tumor is hormone receptive, but only for 25 en 50%. And my inhibin levels are monitored. But when you have a cycle it's not that accurate.

[ChrisP2236]

Hi Sandra Sweetie,
Where are you being treated?  PLEASE FIND A MAJOR CANCER CENTER to address your questions about fertility.  I recommend MD ANDERSON because my gyn/onc studied there and consulted with them.  But if you go on the ovca.net site - http://www.ovca.net/ (which I mentioned above) - you will find under the granulosa cell tumor thread that Dr. Penson in Boston is very good. PLEASE POST TO THAT SITE http://www.ovca.net/ -FOR HELP - they have an ongoing thread for gct for women of all ages and they will help you so much.  

I think Dr. Penson is with Mass General but I could be totally wrong. You break my heart - you are so young. PLEASE find a major cancer center - gct is rare and if you are not treated by someone familiar with it you run a big risk.  You can start with a low mititotic rate but with every recurrance the rate at which the cancer cells divide typically rises, and chemo doesn't seem to do much for most of us. Find someone familiar with this and seek their advice - a major cancer center is your best bet.  

Honestly, you might be better off to have a total hysterectomy but I am not qualified to recommend that and would never do so - hysterectomy is the chosen course for most women diagnosed with gct, but because it is typically slow growing they often give younger women the option to retain the other ovary and uterus if they want children - but then you run the risk of quickened recurrence due to the hormone level increase during pregnancy.

GCT almost always recurs in the other ovary, pregnancy or not, (if it recurs) and can lead to uterine cancer because the hormones act on the uterus.  That is why a hysterectomy is standard in most cases.

Please find a gyn/onc who has treated gct many times - often gyn/oncs have heard of it but not treated it - you want someone at your stage who knows what to do.

Please email me if you want - c_petro***@****.  You are only a little older than my own daughter (30) and I will help you all I can.  Again, I also urge you to try the ovca/net site.  Post to the granulosa cell tumor site and you will make a lot of new friends and find a lot of advice.  Hugs to you Sandra, ChrisP