Health & Medical Cancer & Oncology

IVF at Young Age May Raise Breast Cancer Risk

IVF at Young Age May Raise Breast Cancer Risk

IVF at Young Age May Raise Breast Cancer Risk


Researchers Find Increased Risk for Breast Cancer When IVF Started at Age 24

June 1, 2012 -- Taking all age groups into account, in vitro fertilization treatment is not linked to an increased risk of breast cancer, according to a large new study out of Western Australia.

However, the researchers found that in vitro fertilization, or IVF, patients who first started infertility treatment at age 24 were about 1 1/2 times more likely to eventually develop breast cancer than women who'd received other infertility treatments at the same age.

In vitro fertilization, or IVF, is a procedure in which a woman's egg is fertilized by sperm outside of the body. You may have heard the term "test tube baby" associated with IVF in past years. To help the pregnancy succeed when the fertilized egg is implanted in the woman, extra estrogen is often given, which can cause a temporary but significant rise in the hormone in the body, peaking at more than 10 times the level in a normal menstrual cycle, the researchers write.

And "reproductive hormones, particularly estrogen, have long been implicated in the development of breast cancer," they say.

Previous studies of the relationship between IVF and breast cancer risk, which were smaller and had shorter follow-up than the new one, have had conflicting results.


Trying to Conceive? Tips to Help You Get Pregnant

IVF, Breast Cancer Risk: Studying the Link


In the new study, researchers followed all women aged 20 to 44 who had been hospitalized in Western Australia for diagnosis or treatment of infertility between 1983 and 2002. Their average age at their first visit was 31, and a quarter were under 28, says researcher Louise Stewart, BSc, of the School of Population Health at the University of Western Australia.

About a third of the 21,025 women in the study underwent IVF. These women were followed from their first infertility admission until Aug. 15, 2010, or the date of their breast cancer diagnosis or death, whichever came first. Three-quarters of the breast cancers diagnosed in study participants were in women 50 or older.

Stewart declined to speculate about why her study found an increased risk of breastcancer in IVF patients who first went to an infertility clinic at age 24 but not in the women who started the process in their 30s or 40s.

The study confirmed the known association between age at first delivery and breast cancer risk. Women who have their first child after age 30 have a small increase in breast cancer risk regardless of whether they have undergone IVF.
SHARE
RELATED POSTS on "Health & Medical"
Reasons Why There Is So Much Skin Cancer Now Days
Reasons Why There Is So Much Skin Cancer Now Days
Breast Cancer Screening (PDQ®): Screening - Health Professional Information [NCI]-Special Population
Breast Cancer Screening (PDQ®): Screening - Health Professional Information [NCI]-Special Population
Mesothelioma – An Overview To A Deadly Cancer
Mesothelioma – An Overview To A Deadly Cancer
Is Massage A Natural Pain Relief?
Is Massage A Natural Pain Relief?
Could the HPV Test Replace the Pap Test?
Could the HPV Test Replace the Pap Test?
Diagnostic Tests - PET Scans
Diagnostic Tests - PET Scans
Elderly Receiving Neoadjuvant Chemoradiation for Rectal Cancer
Elderly Receiving Neoadjuvant Chemoradiation for Rectal Cancer
Routine Mammograms Found Not Helpful for Most Women Over 70
Routine Mammograms Found Not Helpful for Most Women Over 70
Meaty Diet Linked to Pancreatic Cancer
Meaty Diet Linked to Pancreatic Cancer
Advances in Transplantation Strategies for Multiple Myeloma
Advances in Transplantation Strategies for Multiple Myeloma
Bioavailability of Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors
Bioavailability of Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors
Tracking and Journaling the Cancer Journey
Tracking and Journaling the Cancer Journey
What You Need to Know About Benign Multicystic Mesothelioma
What You Need to Know About Benign Multicystic Mesothelioma
Essential Good Nutrition for Cancer Patients.
Essential Good Nutrition for Cancer Patients.
Stage 4 Lung Cancer - What Is It?
Stage 4 Lung Cancer - What Is It?
Wigs Help Patients Handle the Challenges of Treatment
Wigs Help Patients Handle the Challenges of Treatment
University Of Chicago Scientists Provide New Evidence For Cellular Cause Of Sids
University Of Chicago Scientists Provide New Evidence For Cellular Cause Of Sids
Oncotype DX as a Decision Tool in Early Breast Cancer
Oncotype DX as a Decision Tool in Early Breast Cancer
Practice of Medicine: Anxiety Up, Morale Down
Practice of Medicine: Anxiety Up, Morale Down
Surviving Breast Cancer - A Husband' s View
Surviving Breast Cancer - A Husband' s View
Breast Cancer Prevention Tips
Breast Cancer Prevention Tips
Journal Article: Adjuvant Chemotherapy for Stage 2 Colon Cancer
Journal Article: Adjuvant Chemotherapy for Stage 2 Colon Cancer
The D'Amico Classification System for Prostate Cancer
The D'Amico Classification System for Prostate Cancer
The Common Signs and Symptoms of Pancreatic Cancer
The Common Signs and Symptoms of Pancreatic Cancer

Leave Your Reply

*