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Childhood tumors not increased after maternal ovarian stimulation

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The risk of childhood tumors does not appear to be increased in children whose mothers were treated with ovulation-stimulating drugs, according to a report in the April issue of Fertility & Sterility.

Several clinical reports have suggested a link between in vitro fertilization or ovulation-stimulating drugs and various malignancies, the authors explain, but there has been little systematic investigation regarding childhood cancer risk in this setting.Dr. Louise A. Brinton from National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland and colleagues used a database including 30,364 Danish women evaluated for infertility to assess the childhood cancer risk among children conceived following the use of ovulation-stimulating drugs.Fifty-one children of mothers evaluated for infertility developed cancer, the authors report, representing a cancer risk similar to that of the general population of children in Denmark.The standardized incidence ratios of childhood tumors were slightly, but not significantly, elevated for leukemias, lymphomas, and sympathetic nervous system tumors, the report indicates.After adjustment for maternal age, the researchers note, there was no relationship between the risk of childhood tumors and the prior use of clomiphene citrate, human chorionic gonadotropin, or human menopausal gonadotropin; ever having used ovulation-stimulating drugs before the birth of the child; or the number of cycles of clomiphene received.Based on small numbers of cases, there was an apparent significant decrease in the risk of all neural tumors associated with the prior use of any ovulation-stimulating drug, the results indicate, but a nonsignificant increase in the risk of hematopoietic malignancies.”The results from our study were largely reassuring and suggested that no overall increase in tumor risk occurred among children conceived following their mothers’ treatments for infertility,” the authors conclude. “However, even though this is the largest study to date, we were limited in our ability to detect alterations in risk, especially for specific tumor types.””A few slight elevations in risk (e.g., for hematopoietic malignancies) suggest the need for continued monitoring of the exposures,” Dr. Brinton told Reuters Health, “especially given widespread prevalence in the U.S. as well as in many other developing countries.””We have, however, just completed a large U.S. study in which we inquired about specific problems that the children (conceived after use of ovulation stimulating drugs) developed during the first 5 years of life,” Dr. Brinton added. “We will, therefore, have some opportunity for assessing further when there are any early adverse effects among the children.”(Source: Fertil Steril 2004;81:1083-1091: Reuters Health: Will Boggs, MD: Oncolink: April 2004)


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Posted On: 26 April, 2004
Modified On: 3 December, 2013

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