IVF has no link with breast cancer: study

NI Wire

New Delhi

Thu, 13 Nov 2008: 

The In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) – a fertilisation procedure in which the joining of egg and sperm takes place outside the woman's body and later the fertilised egg has been injected into uterus of women – and development of breast cancer has not causative relationship, claimed Dutch scientists.

p>A researchers team of Netherlands has claimed that no firm link between IVF and breast cancer has been established in the study, while the Dutch scientists have claimed that even the risk of breast cancer may reduce if it concludes successfully and woman gives birth to a baby.

Till now, some researchers fear that under IVF treatment technology the attempt of enhancing the productivity of eggs through stimulating the ovaries from fertility drugs may increase the level of oestrogen- a female sex hormone- to which some breast tumours are sensitive.

By Contrast, Alexandra van den Belt-Dusebout, of the Netherlands Cancer Institute, the team leader of Dutch scientists has claimed that it does not cause the risk of breast cancer. He claimed it on the basis of a nation wide study in which the Dutch team used a national registry to conduct its study.

Using the national register the research team sorted out over 25,000 women received IVF treatment or other fertility treatments between 1980 and 1995. Out of them, 19,000 have received IVF treatment while the remaining women got other type of fertility treatment or no treatment.

There was no statistical significant difference have been found between the IVF treated women and general women in terms of breast cancer. There was only marginal difference between the infertile patients and normal women in case of higher cancer risk.

The women who undergone for a longer period of fertility treatment have been found slightly higher risk of breast cancer disease, but it was because of the difference in the number of children compared to the general population, claimed Study.

‘The infertile women usually tends to fewer children and their treatment begins in later years of their life while a normal woman produces child on the early age which protect her from the rising risk of breast cancer,’ study added.

“After 15 years, the risk was a bit higher than in the general population, but this could be through a difference in the number of children compared to the general population,” said Dr van den Belt-Dusebout but also added, “When the hazard ratios are adjusted for parity (number of children) they are not significantly different.”

The study also revealed that there were no significant differences in breast cancer risk between the infertile patients who had IVF and those who did not. The reason behind this was the women who have more cycles are exposed to higher amounts of drugs, and the lack of a dose-response relationship suggests there is no effect.

The study was presented at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine conference in San Francisco.