General health outcomes in women who have undergone ART version 1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Long-term risk of cancer and general health outcomes in women who underwent assisted reproductive technology in Great Britain, 1991-2010: a data linkage study
IRAS ID
284168
Contact name
Alastair Sutcliffe
Contact email
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
215551/Z/19/Z, Wellcome Trust Funding reference; RA029079/1, UCL Risk Assessment reference; Z6364106/2019/08/71, UCL Data Protection Registration Number:
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 3 days
Research summary
Recently, there has been a global increase in the number of women who have undergone assisted reproductive techniques (ART), and approximately 54,000 women underwent around 75,000 fertility treatments in the UK in 2017 alone. Assisted reproduction cycles typically require 2-4 weeks of hormonal stimulation, and most women are subjected to multiple rounds of treatment resulting in abnormally elevated exposure to endogenous steroid hormones such as estradiol and/or progesterone. This endocrine assault is a continuing source of concern for patients and the medical profession, primarily because of the potential carcinogenic effects on hormone responsive tissues such as the breast, endometrium and ovary. Other short and long-term health outcomes observed in women who have undergone ART include ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, multiple pregnancy, increased pregnancy morbidity (e.g. gestational diabetes or hypertensive disorders), obstetric complications, side effects of medications are well known, and poor mental health have also been reported. However, much of the evidence examining cancer and long-term general health outcomes in women who have undergone ART remain largely inconsistent.
A previous study conducted by our group found increased risk of in situ breast cancer and invasive and borderline ovarian tumours in a cohort of 255786 women who underwent ART in the UK over a 2257789 person-years follow-up period. The aim of the current study is to utilise this previously established cohort to compare hospital admission rates and general health outcomes of women who have previously undergone fertility treatment to those of population controls, and to also investigate whether the risk of cancer has changed with increased follow-up period. By using an existing cohort, we will not only avoid the need for further access to identifiable information but also extract maximum use out of a previously carried out data linkage.REC name
London - Stanmore Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/LO/0641
Date of REC Opinion
17 Sep 2021
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion