Treatment of infertility does not increase the risk of ovarian cancer among women with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation

abstract

Objective

To evaluate the relationship between use of fertility medication (i.e., selective estrogen receptor [ER] modulator, gonadotropin, or other) or infertility treatment (i.e., IVF or IUI) and the risk of ovarian cancer among women with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation.

Design

A matched case-control study of 941 pairs of BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation carriers with and without a diagnosis of ovarian cancer.

Setting

Genetic clinics.

Patient(s)

Detailed information regarding treatment of infertility was collected from a routinely administered questionnaire.

Intervention(s)

None.

Main Outcome Measure(s)

Conditional logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals associated with fertility treatment.

Result(s)

There was no significant relationship between the use of any fertility medication or IVF treatment (odds ratio, 0.66; 95% confidence interval 0.18–2.33) and the subsequent risk of ovarian cancer.

Conclusion(s)

Our findings suggest that treatment for infertility does not significantly increase the risk of ovarian cancer among women with a BRCA mutation