Reassurance About In Vitro Fertilization and Risk for Breast Cancer

After 21 years of follow-up, ovarian stimulation for IVF did not raise subsequent risk for breast cancer.

The high levels of circulating estrogens and progesterone during ovarian stimulation for in vitro fertilization (IVF) have prompted speculation that IVF might raise risk for breast cancer. To examine this issue, investigators in the Netherlands determined the incidence of breast cancer in 19,158 women who started IVF treatment between 1983 and 1995 (IVF group) and 5950 women who started other fertility treatments between 1980 and 1995 (non-IVF group); all were followed for a median of 21 years (mean baseline age, 33).

Thirty-eight percent of women in the IVF group and 28% in the non-IVF group remained nulliparous. Among all women who received any fertility treatment, 839 cases of invasive breast cancer and 109 cases of carcinoma in situ occu…

Reviewing Author

Robert W. Rebar, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardMyovant Sciences, Inc.

Editorial BoardsEndoText; Clinical OB/GYN Alert

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesAmerican Society for Reproductive Medicine (Member, Ethics Committee)

Robert W. Rebar, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardMyovant Sciences, Inc.

Editorial BoardsEndoText; Clinical OB/GYN Alert

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesAmerican Society for Reproductive Medicine (Member, Ethics Committee)

Reassurance About In Vitro Fertilization and Risk for Breast Cancer

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Reviewing Author