Can IVF cause cancer

At the global level, many couples are unable to conceive a child/children and have pregnancy problems. Medicines that induce ovulation, as one of the IVF (In Vitro Fertilization) process stages, taking medication to help infertility. However, over the last few years, it has been debating on the relationship between fertility drugs and cancer.

In this TebMedTourism post, we will address your concerns. Finding the conclusion of all the data with similar keywords: “infertility treatment, cancer, ovulation induction, ART and fertility agents” in many articles is here.

By Reading this article hopefully your questions will be answered; “Can IVF and IVF medication cause cancer?”, “Is there an increased risk of cancer with IVF?” or the other question that obsessed your mind is essential.

The match of these keywords and long tail-related questions for many years followed by famous scientists, despite your concerns, we have great news! The summary of all data didn’t show increased cancer risk among fertility medication users, and the opinions of experts in this field differ.

(This article has been updated on 11/02/2022)

This article has been approved by the TebMedTourism medical team (Dr. Bazazi and & Dr. Mohammadzadeh).

Is there an increased risk of cancer with IVF?  what the data tells us!

Can IVF cause cancer? Where is the origin of this question?

IVF procedure usually used to treat infertility. IVF consists of combining eggs and sperms apart from the body in the laboratory environment. The first step in IVF is to inject hormones, and because of these stimulant hormones, the egg donor’s body produces several eggs each month instead of just one or two.

In step two, the intended mother will receive injections of a medication that ripens the developing eggs and begins the ovulation process.

It seems that hormones and drugs in the IVF procedure play an essential role in increasing cancer risk, but what hormones and medication are used to prescribe IVF treatment?

Infertility drugs for female

Fertility medications generally function as natural hormones. The folliculo-stimulating hormone (FSH) and the luteinizing hormone (LH) trigger ovulation.

Fertility drugs include:

• Clomiphene citrate
• Gonadotropins
• Metformin
• Letrozole
• Bromocriptine

Now we talk about these medications which are Each drug is specially is high risks for cancer.

Can IVF drugs cause ovarian cancer?

The fact that women who received medications for IVF, even, in the long run, do not have an elevated risk of malignant ovarian cancer is comforting.

On the other hand, there are some statistics regarding infertility medications that need to be analysed. The TebMedTourism will investigate these facts in the following.

·         Is there a connection between Clomid (Clomiphene Citrate) and ovarian cancer?

The strongest proof that ovarian-stimulating medications like Clomid (Clomiphene Citrate) and others do not raise the chance of developing ovarian cancer.  This is reported by Cochrane review that was released in 2013. The study was done from 1990 to February 2013 with 182,972 women who used Clomid.

This evaluation claims that the studies’ failure to account for the risk of infertility or the poor sample size made it impossible to draw firm conclusions about whether they increased the risk of cancer.

·         Is there a connection between Clomid and endometrial cancer?

Follow- up of patients is an important way to conclude the rumors around infertility drugs.

According to some recent, inaccurate and unreliable searches in the past years; in a few women who take more than 2,000 mg of Clomid and choose it for 7 or more cycles, the risk of endometrial cancer had increased.

We should keep in our mind that, it isn’t intellectual trust every article that says with certainty about the downsides of IVF; instead, you should read the articles that took into account all the risk factors and, after accurate research, published their findings!

Please remember all the medication have side effects; including infertility treatment medications. However, infertility treatment experts in TebMedTourism closely monitor their clients about medicines and doses at all stages of IVF procedure.

Can IVF cause breast cancer?

The answer to this question is somewhat complicated because estrogen plays an important role in a person’s capability to conceive a child and maintain a salubrious pregnancy.

Estrogen supplementation is widespread during IVF cycles due to the increase in the chance of successful conception. Furthermore, two hormonotherapy methods, FSH and LH, definitely change estrogen levels.

Although Numerous well-known studies have refuted the idea of any connection between IVF and breast cancer, doctors should keep a keen eye on estrogen fluctuations.

Can IVF cause colon cancer?

It is a gossip! The latest researches show that the IVF group’s colorectal cancer risk was the same as the general population’s.

The main cause of colon cancer is lifestyle-related factors. Actually, a kind of links between weight, diet, exercise, tobacco smoking and etc. and there isn’t any relating to hormones!

Also, there is no reason doctors shouldn’t advise IVF to patients with family history of colon cancer who want to grow their families! There are many researches mention that when cancer is detected before IVF, the risk of needing IVF will increase.

Can IVF cause thyroid cancer?

The latest result of research suggests that TSH does not change significantly during IVF treatment, but there are some data about fertility drugs called clomipohene citrate, one of the most common fertility medications.

So TSH levels of infertile women undergoing in vitro fertilization should be monitored. The value of preconceived TSH at 2.5 mIU/L is the goal for pregnant women.

Can IVF cause skin cancer?

Do you think the dark side of IVF is slowly coming in, and IVF may cause melanoma? The true answer is in new research! The answer is definitely: No.

Because melanocytes are known to respond to estrogen stimulation, Hormone therapy can affect the level of melanoma. So the number of IVF cycles should be controlled.

Can IVF cause pancreatic cancer?

What is the leading cause of pancreatic cancer? This is a fundamental question, and answering it can solve many issues that haunt your mind about the effect of fertility treatments.

Several well-known risk factors for pancreatic cancer include smoking, diabetes, chronic pancreatitis (pancreatic inflammation), a family history of the disease, and a few genetic disorders. It’s also possible that carrying excess weight that harms your health is a contributing issue.

So among the above factors, there is no evidence to accuse fertility drugs!