Many fertility studies have already suggested that treatments that induce ovulation may increase the risk of ovarian cancer, without however providing solid evidence. Scientific experts from University College London say in turn that after a in vitro fertilization, women have a 30% increased risk of suffering from ovarian cancer.
To verify the link between IVF and ovarian cancer, British researchers went through twenty years of records kept by the Fertility and Embryology Authority, and studied the medical records of every woman who underwent IVF between 1991 and 2010 in Great Britain, more than 250,000 patients. “Compared to other UK women of the same age and time frame, we found the rates of breast and uterine cancer to be the same. But, however, there was a risk increased ovarian cancer “ Professor Alastair Sutcliffe, from the Institute of Child Health, University College London, pointed out during a medical conference.
A risk that remains low
However, the doctor weighs his conclusions by emphasizing that this risk remains very low since only 15 women per 10,000 developed ovarian cancer during the study period, compared to 11 per 10,000 women in the general population.
In addition, for the moment, no one knows if it is in vitro fertilization that increases the risk of ovarian cancer or if this risk increases because of the fertility problems of women already “at risk”. Other experts believe that IVF can potentially trigger the onset of cancer in women genetically predisposed to the disease.
Nevertheless, all agree that it would be wise to set up a screening program for women with infertility and who have undergone IVF.
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