[Childhood cancer after fertility treatments?].

Abstract

Since the introduction of Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) in 1978, more than 10 million ART-conceived children have been born. Each phase of the ART procedure is substantially different from natural conception and these processes occur in the same timeframe as epigenetic programming. It seems plausible that ART could influence early stages of embryogenesis and thereby permanently influence the development and health of these individuals. Several epidemiological studies investigated the risk of childhood cancer after ART. Overall, results appear reassuring and do not indicate an increased risk. However, for subgroups, including children born after frozen-thawed embryo transfer(FET) there might be a modestly increased risk. There are some biological explanations for an increased risk of cancer after FET. However, as results are based on a small number of cancer cases, results must be replicated in other large cohort studies before translation into clinical practice.