Breast Cancer and IVF

Because it is Breast Cancer Awareness Month I thought I would blog about breast cancer and IVF . I get asked about this a lot. Many women are really worried that if they embark upon fertility treatment then they are increasing their life time risk of developing breast cancer.
The incidence of breast cancer is increasing and whilst the cause of breast cancer is unknown, it is linked with high sustained levels of oestrogen. Hence there have been concerns that women doing IVF treatment who are exposed to high levels of oestrogen for a short time may be more at risk of developing breast cancer.
There has recently been a large meta- analysis performed looking at the association of breast cancer with IVF www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16526416. 
This study looked at 8 studies with more than 1.5 million women and found no association between breast cancer and previous IVF treatment which is reassuring.
At the moment the general consensus is that IVF is not associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. However all women with predisposing risk factors should consider breast screening prior to starting IVF. Women should also be aware that the risk of breast cancer rises according to the age that a woman give birth to her first child.
Screening mammography is recommended annually from age 40 onwards.

If you do have breast cancer and would like to know what your options are for Fertility Preservation, there is more information on our website http://www.fertilityassociates.co.nz/Fertility-preservation-and-cancer.aspx