According to a story from whtc.com, a recent study from the UK is calling into question the widely held belief that fertility treatments could increase the risk of ovarian cancer, breast cancer, and uterine cancer. The researchers found that women who used these treatments did face an increase in breast and ovarian cancer tumors, but the authors found that there are probably other factors that play a role in this increase, and the impact of the treatment itself is minor.
Previous Research Refuted
For ovarian cancer at least, it has generally been considered common knowledge that fertility drugs could increase a woman’s risk. The data from this long term study, however, suggests that the connection is not as definitive as previously thought.
Dr. Alastair Sutcliffe, the senior author of the study, says that hormones in the reproductive process to contain mechanisms that control cell growth, and as a result fertility treatment still has a very small risk of increasing the likelihood of cancer down the line. For the vast majority of women, however, this simply is not the case.
About the Study
The study took data over the course of nine years involving about 256,000 women who used fertility treatments. Of that group 3,155 developed uterine, breast, or ovarian cancer. The data suggested that the risk did increase very slightly for ovarian cancer and for noninvasive breast cancer. This risk increase was associated with other factors as well. For example, the increase in breast cancer risk was tied to a greater number of treatment cycles. Meanwhile, the women who saw an increased risk of ovarian cancer often had other health problems that played a role, such as endometriosis, ovary disorders, or female-factor infertility.
More Research Ahead
This is good news for women who would like to use fertility treatments in order to have children and may have had reservations because of the possibility of increased cancer risk.
With that said, the study authors emphasize that more research should be done. At this juncture, it is not well understood why women who deal with infertility seem to have a greater risk of ovarian cancer and other cancers of the reproductive system. The authors also plan to repeat the study soon in order to monitor if risk of cancer changes as women age.
To read the original study, click here.
