Study: Fertility hormones do not increase cancer risk

Research from the Danish Cancer Society has dispelled the suspicion of a link between fertility treatment hormones and ovarian cancer. The study examined the five most commonly used hormones in fertility treatments and found only a slight increased risk for a subtype of ovarian cancer with one hormone, progesterone. It is, however, unclear if the risk is due to progesterone itself or other factors related to the treated women. Senior researcher Allan Jensen, who led the study at the Cancer Society’s Center for Cancer Research, says the results are reassuring for women undergoing fertility treatments. The study is considered the largest of its kind, utilizing health data from patient records and Danish health registries spanning from the 1970s to present, involving over 150,000 Danish women. Approximately one in eight children in Denmark are born following fertility treatments, which have been available for about 40 years.