Do IVF treatments cause cancer?

It has long been debated whether fertility treatments might be associated with the risk of cancer. On the hand, some studies have associated the increase the risk of ovarian cancer with certain fertility treatments. What is not known is whether the increase in the risk of cancer comes from the underlying cause of infertility for which you are seeking treatment in the first place. Or whether it is related to the fertility drugs and the fertility treatments that have led to the increase in the ovarian cancer rate.

What is not known is whether the increase in the risk of cancer comes from the underlying cause of infertility for which you are seeking treatment in the first place. Or whether it is related to the fertility drugs and the fertility treatments that have led to the increase in the ovarian cancer rate.

It is also important to remember that even if there is an association and the causative link is still being established, the increased risk of cancer is very small.

On the other hand, many other studies have not supported the link between IVF treatments and cancer. Interestingly there has been studies that have also looked at the incidence of the other cancers such as uterine cancer, breast cancer, cervical cancer and other systemic cancers but reassuringly there is no association with fertility treatments with the increase in the risk of these cancers.

Recently there have been some studies which have been looking at the incidence of cancer in children born following a fertility treatment. Again there is a strong reassurance that the early data does not suggest an increase in the risk of cancer in the babies born following fertility treatment.

So overall there is some association of an increasing risk of ovarian cancer, but the links have not been associated with uterine, breast, cervical or systemic cancers, and the early data is reassuring that there is no increased cancer rate for children born following the treatments.