IVF and Cancer Risk: A Nuanced Association

IVF treatment was not associated with excess risk for invasive breast or uterine corpus cancer, but it was associated with risk for ovarian cancer in women with endometriosis who remained nulliparous after IVF.

The relation between in vitro fertilization (IVF) and women's cancer remains unclear. Investigators explored risk for cancer of the breast, uterine corpus, and ovary in 226,000 British women who underwent IVF from 1991 to 2010 (mean age at IVF, 35; median follow-up, 9 years) compared with the female population of England and Wales.

IVF was not associated with excess risk for invasive breast cancer or uterine corpus cancer, but it was associated with modestly increased risk for in situ breast cancer (standardized incidence ratio [SIR], 1.15; absolute excess risk, 1.7 cases per 100,000 person-years). IVF was not associated with excess risk for ovarian cancer (borderline or invasive) in women without endometriosis who achieved live birth (SIR, …

Reviewing Author

Robert L. Barbieri, MD

Disclosures

Grant/Research SupportNational Institutes of Health

Editorial BoardsUpToDate

Robert L. Barbieri, MD

Disclosures

Grant/Research SupportNational Institutes of Health

Editorial BoardsUpToDate

IVF and Cancer Risk: A Nuanced Association

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Reviewing Author