Paediatric dental outcomes among children exposed to chemotherapy in utero

Abstract

Aim: Our study prospectively evaluated dental development in children exposed to chemotherapy in utero compared with unexposed controls.

Design: Women who received chemotherapy while pregnant were enrolled in a research registry. After age two, each child's dentist was asked to complete a questionnaire about dental abnormalities and malformations, as well as for their unexposed siblings. Multivariate linear regression adjusting for age was used to compare the groups.

Results: Dental information was received for 67 exposed children and 59 controls. The majority of mothers were treated for breast cancer (79.1%) and primarily received doxorubicin (89.6%) and cyclophosphamide (80.6%). Mean gestational age at first exposure was 20.7 (±5.7) weeks. Mean age at dental evaluation was 8.0 (±4.3) years for exposed and 10.4 (±5.1) years for controls (P < .01). Missing teeth, tooth size, shape, and color did not differ significantly between groups. There was no statistical difference in dental caries, facial abnormalities, or abnormalities of enamel or gingiva. There was no association between any chemotherapy agent or regimen and increased risk of dental abnormalities.

Conclusions: Overall, there was no difference in dental abnormalities between groups. These negative findings may be because no one received chemotherapy prior to 14 weeks when formation of primary teeth was beginning.

Keywords: cancer in pregnancy; chemotherapy; in utero exposure; odontogenesis; paediatric dental care.