Fertility problems increase cancer risk in women

According to the researchers, infertile women are more exposed to cancer.

A study showed that women with fertility problems were 18% more likely to have cancer, especially cancers of the uterus and ovary.

It may be because women who need IVF receive powerful medications that alter their hormone levels. Infertile women may also have genetic problems that increase their risk of cancer and childhood.

Study found that women with fertility problems are 18% more likely to get cancer

The researchers tracked over 64,000 women with fertility problems over almost four years, comparing their medical records to those of three million fertile women.

The results show that 2% of infertile women were diagnosed with cancer at that time, compared to only 1.7% of women without fertility problems.

Dr. Gayathree Murugappan, lead author of the Stanford University study in the United States, said, "We do not know the causes of the cancer increase found in this study – that this either infertility itself, the causes of infertility, or the treatment of infertility.

"We can only show that there is an association between them. In the future, we hope to understand why infertile women have a higher risk of cancer, for example by identifying a common underlying mechanism that can cause cancer and infertility. "

The researchers pointed out that the increased risk in infertile women was low, adding, "The low overall incidence of cancer in these women means that one in 49 sterile women would develop cancer during the follow-up period, versus out of 59 among non-sterile women. & # 39;