[lys2012]

Pregnancy after myeloma treatment? Anyone had a baby?

by lys2012 on Tue Dec 06, 2011 12:00 am

I am an uncommon case, a young women with multiple myeloma. Was diagnosed at 32, and had 4 or 5 rounds of dex / Velcade and then an auto stem cell transplant. It's been about 18 months and I am doing really well, no detectable M-spike! I take pamidronate (Aredia) but no main­te­nance.

My husband and I are trying to think about having a family and really would like information about pregnancy and myeloma, I know there is no cure (unlike other cancers, like lymphoma). Have read you should wait 2 years, or you should wait 5 years, or even 6 months. We saw a fertility specialist before my transplant, but even he did not have any specific details since myeloma is not that common in young women. (We did preservation, so we would be doing IVF.)

[Dr. Edward Libby]

Re: Pregnancy after myeloma treatment? Anyone had a baby?

by Dr. Edward Libby on Thu Dec 08, 2011 1:02 am

Hello Alyssa,

This is an important question and I am glad you contacted us!

Because you have stored eggs, you are in a good position to try and conceive. I see no reason to wait any longer to try and get pregnant if your disease is in remission. This is really uncharted terri­tory. You should consult your fertility specialist again and move ahead I think.

For women who did not store eggs:

Successful pregnancies have been reported in women who have received high-dose melphalan like yourself. There are only a few case reports to guide us, but there is hope for these patients to start a family. No birth defects related to melphalan exposure in the mother have been reported, but there is precious little written about the outcome of the children.

As far as Velcade, I could not find any published reports regarding pregnancy and this agent.

Best of luck Alyssa.