Ovarian epithelial neoplasia after hormonal infertility treatment: long-term follow-up of a historical cohort in Sweden
Journal article, 2009

OBJECTIVE: To study the association between hormonal infertility treatment and ovarian neoplasia. DESIGN: Historical cohort study. SETTING: Three university hospitals in Sweden. PATIENT(S): A total of 2,768 women assessed and treated for infertility and infertility-associated disorders between 1961 and 1975. INTERVENTION(S): Exposed women received clomiphene citrate and/or gonadotropins. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Incidence of ovarian neoplasia. RESULT(S): No overall excess risk of invasive ovarian cancer emerged compared with the general population. In women with gonadotropin treatment for non-ovulatory disorders, the risk was elevated (standardized incidence ratio [SIR] = 5.89; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.91-13.75); four of the five cases reported hCG treatment only, rendering the biological plausibility uncertain. Multivariate analysis within the cohort indicated that treatment with gonadotropins only was associated with an increased risk of invasive cancer (relative risk = 5.28; 95% CI 1.70-16.47). For borderline tumors, a more than threefold overall increase of tumors (SIR = 3.61; 95% CI 1.45-7.44) was noted; women exposed to clomiphene because of ovulatory disorders showed the highest risk (SIR = 7.47; 95% CI 1.54-21.83). CONCLUSION(S): Our findings of increased risk of ovarian cancer after gonadotropins and of borderline tumors after clomiphene treatment need to be interpreted with caution. However, concern is raised, and further research on the long-term safety particularly of modern hormonal infertility treatment in IVF programs is warranted.

Female/*adverse effects/therapeutic use

Adult

Neoplasms

Cohort Studies

Female/*drug therapy

Follow-Up Studies

Aged

Female

Middle Aged

Adolescent

Humans

Sweden/epidemiology

Fertility Agents

Ovarian Neoplasms/*chemically induced/*epidemiology

Glandular and Epithelial/*chemically induced/*epidemiology

Infertility

Young Adult

Incidence

Author

Karin Sanner

Peter Conner

Kjell Bergfeldt

Paul Dickman

Karin Sundfeldt

University of Gothenburg

Torbjörn Bergh

Kerstin Hagenfeldt

Per-Olof Janson

University of Gothenburg

Staffan Nilsson

Ingemar Persson

Fertil Steril

Vol. 91 4 1152-8

Subject Categories

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES

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Created

10/10/2017