Is conception by IVF associated with childhood cancer risk?

Bottom Line: This study compared the risk of childhood cancer diagnosed in the first decade of life among children conceived by in vitro fertilization with those children conceived naturally. Included in the study were almost 276,000 children conceived by IVF and more than 2.2 million other children; 321 cancers were detected among the children conceived by IVF and 2,042 cancers were detected among the children not conceived by IVF. The association of conception by IVF with risk of childhood cancer was small and limited to rare tumors. Limitations of this observational study include the inability to examine fertility treatments other than IVF and other unmeasured potential confounding factors.

Authors: Logan G. Spector, Ph.D., of the University of Minnesota, and coauthors

(doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2019.0392)

Editor’s Note: The article contains conflict of interest and funding/support disclosures. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.

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