No cancer link to fertility drugs
Updated on 06 February 2009
Fertility drugs do not increase the risk of ovarian cancer, according to a large-scale study on the issue.
Since the late 1970s, research has been divided on whether drugs used to treat infertility can increase chances of developing the cancer.
But now Danish researchers say they have found no evidence that using any type of fertility drug increases the risk.
However, they said research should continue as large numbers of women will not have reached the age when ovarian cancer becomes the most common.
The group of experts were from the Danish Cancer Society, led by assistant professor Allan Jensen, and the study was published ahead of print in the British Medical Journal (BMJ).
They analysed data for 54,362 women with infertility problems - the largest group of infertile women studied to date - referred to Danish fertility clinics between 1963 and 1998.
The effects of four groups of fertility drugs on the women, who included 156 with ovarian cancer, were examined for an average of 16 years.
The experts found no overall increased risk for ovarian cancer after using any fertility drug, even among women who had had 10 or more cycles of treatment or who did not become pregnant.
Although the authors did observe a statistically significant increase in risk of the most common serious type of ovarian cancer among women who had used the drug clomiphene, they said this was probably a chance association.
They concluded: "We found no convincing association between use of fertility drugs and the overall risk of ovarian cancer."
These news feeds are provided by an independent third party and Channel 4 is not responsible or liable to you for the same.
