Spaan M, et al. - In view of the increasing worldwide use of assisted reproductive technology (ART), like IVF or ICSI, researchers assessed the long-term cancer risks for children conceived by these techniques. Overall, the outcomes suggest no significant higher risk of cancer for ART-conceived children.

Methods

• Researchers performed a nationwide historical cohort study with prospective follow-up (median 21 years); they included all live-born offspring from women treated with subfertility treatments between 1980 and 2001.
• They identified 47,690 live-born children; of these, 24,269 were ART-conceived, 13,761 naturally conceived and 9,660 were conceived naturally or through fertility drugs, but not by ART.
• Through the mothers’ questionnaires and medical records, they obtained information on the conception method of each child and potential confounders.
• Through linkage with The Netherlands Cancer Registry from 1 January 1989 until 1 November 2016, they determined cancer incidence.

Results

• Researchers performed the median follow-up of 21 years (interquartile range (IQR): 17–25), which was shorter in ART-conceived children (20 years, IQR: 17–23) compared with naturally conceived children (24 years, IQR: 20–30).
• In total, cancers occurred in 231.
• ART-conceived children displayed no higher risk for cancer, neither compared with naturally conceived children from subfertile women (HR: 1.00, 95% CI 0.72–1.38) nor compared with the general population (SIR = 1.11, 95% CI: 0.90–1.36).
• Children conceived by ICSI or cryopreservation showed slightly but non-significantly increased risks (HR = 1.52, 95% CI: 0.81–2.85; 1.80, 95% CI: 0.65–4.95, respectively).
• ART-conceived children had non-significantly increased risks of lymphoblastic leukemia (HR = 2.44, 95% CI: 0.81–7.37) and melanoma (HR = 1.86, 95% CI: 0.66–5.27) compared with naturally conceived children.