IVF Treatment Linked to Ovarian Cancer Risk

In-vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment doubles the risk of ovarian cancer, warns study.

In-vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment doubles the risk of ovarian cancer, finds study.

Doctors in the Netherlands compared the long-term health of more than 19,000 women who had received at least one IVF ovarian stimulation treatment with just over 6,000 similarly infertile counterparts who had not been treated for IVF.

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Of the 25,000 women they studied, 77 developed ovarian malignancies in the ensuing 15 years, a risk that in absolute terms was very low.

But in relative terms, the numbers were much higher in the IVF group, which had 61 out of the 77 cases compared to 16 in the non-IVF group.

Thirty of the 61 were cases of invasive ovarian cancer, which usually requires extensive surgery and chemotherapy and has a low survival rate.

Ovarian Cancer | Cancer in the Ovaries - Causes, Symptoms, Treatment & Prevention
Ovarian cancer affects both the ovaries and is referred to as the 'silent killer' as the symptoms go unnoticed until the disease advances.

The other 31 cases were borderline ovarian tumours, which have low malignancy potential and are rarely fatal but require major surgery.

After taking into account the age and how many children (if any) the women had had, as well as other factors that could skew the results, the researchers found a two-fold increase in the risk of ovarian malignancies in the IVF group.

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But the risk did not increase with more IVF cycles, a surprise finding that will be probed further.

The study, appearing in the European journal Human Reproduction, is based on data from national health registries and women diagnosed with subfertility problems at the Netherlands' 12 IVF clinics between 1980 and 1995.

Invitro Fertilisation
During IVF fertilization takes place invitro, in an incubated petri dish. The resulting embryo is transferred back to the uterus on Day 3 at the 6-8 cell stage. Sometimes the embryo transfer in done at the blastocyst stage on Day 5. The embryo is drawn into a specialized catheter along with a small amount of culture medium and is transferred to the uterus.

Source-AFP