Khaberni - A large-scale Australian study has revealed that women who have undergone fertility treatments do not face a higher overall risk of cancer compared to other women.
The study, published in "JAMA Network Open," analyzed the health records of more than 417,000 women in Australia who underwent medical reproductive assistance methods between 1991 and 2018, including artificial insemination and other forms of infertility treatment.
The researchers explained that the results are generally reassuring, as there was no increase in the overall cancer rate among women who received fertility treatments compared to other women in the same age group.
The co-leading researcher of the study, Dr. Adriten Wileker from the Big Data Health Research Center at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, said that women who have undergone such treatments should continue participating in regular cancer screening programs and consult with doctors about potential risk factors.
The results showed that some cancers were slightly more common among women who underwent fertility treatments, such as uterine cancer, ovarian cancer, and melanoma skin cancer. There was also an increase in a non-invasive type of breast cancer among women who underwent artificial insemination, without an increase in invasive breast cancer.
Conversely, some cancers were less common among this group, such as cervical cancer and lung cancer.
The researchers explained that these differences do not necessarily mean an increase in the overall risk, as the appearance of different patterns for certain diseases among specific population groups is common.
Looking at the detailed figures, uterine cancer was higher by a range of 23% to 83% depending on the type of fertility treatment, while ovarian cancer increased by about 18% to 23% for women who underwent artificial insemination or similar treatments, and skin cancer increased by 7% to 15%.
However, the researchers emphasized that the actual increase in the number of cases was very small, ranging from only 3 to 7 additional cases per 100,000 women annually.
The lead researcher of the study, Professor Claire Vajdic from the Kirby Institute, said that these results do not mean that fertility treatments cause cancer, but rather reflect that women who suffer from infertility may have different risk factors than others.
The researchers noted that some causes of infertility, such as endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome, are originally linked to an increased risk of uterine and ovarian cancer. Also, women who undergo fertility treatments often differ in lifestyle and health characteristics from the rest of the population, such as lower smoking rates and higher chances of undergoing regular medical examinations.
The need for longer follow-up
Since many of the women participating in the study were still relatively young at the end of the follow-up period, the researchers believe that a longer follow-up over the coming years may provide a clearer picture of the long-term cancer risks.
The study concluded that fertility treatments are not associated with an overall increase in cancer risk, but understanding the differences in some specific types will help doctors and women make more informed health decisions in the future.
