Oncology · Obstetrics & Gynecology · 2 h ago
Danish Cohort Links Some ART Procedures to Higher Childhood Cancer Risk
A nationwide Danish cohort study of 1,086,136 live births found an association between assisted reproductive technology (ART) and childhood cancer. The association varied by procedure; absolute cancer incidence remained low, and the observational findings do not establish causation.
- ART conception was associated with higher overall cancer incidence.
- Associations varied by ART procedure; IVF showed no increase.
- Absolute cancer incidence remained low.
- Observational findings do not establish causation.
Researchers examined nationwide Danish registry data for 1,086,136 children born from 1996 to 2012, including 37,228 conceived using ART, with follow-up through 2023. They assessed incident childhood cancer by ART modality using non-ART births as the primary comparison group, with secondary analyses accounting for maternal infertility history and comparing procedures with IVF.
Over a median 20 years, 3,736 cancers were diagnosed. Cancer incidence was 23.6 per 100,000 person-years after ART versus 18.3 after non-ART conception (hazard ratio [HR], 1.26; 95% CI, 1.07-1.48). The association was observed after frozen embryo transfer (41.1 per 100,000; HR, 2.18) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (27.9 per 100,000; HR, 1.48), but not IVF (HR, 1.01). Procedure-specific associations with several cancer types were also reported, with wide confidence intervals for some estimates. Findings were similar in secondary analyses. The cohort study identifies associations, not causation; cancer remained uncommon, and the authors said procedure-related factors warrant further investigation.
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JAMA: Childhood Cancer Risk After Assisted Reproductive Technology ↗This is an automated AI-condensed summary that has not yet been reviewed by an editor. Always consult the full item at the original source.