Thanks to assisted reproduction, more than 3.5 million babies have been born in the world. Some studies carried out previously had pointed to an increase in cancer incidences in children born in this way, but the results were isolated and contradictory, so a global study has been done to verify whether it is indeed so or not.
The study was carried out in the United Kingdom with 106 thousand children born through assisted reproduction who were followed for six and a half years. The researchers have concluded that Being born by assisted reproduction is not related to increased cancer risk.
No significant difference was found between the number of cancers suffered by children born by assisted reproduction compared to children of the same age conceived naturally.
What the specialists found was a slight increase in some types of cancer such as liver and soft tissue, but it cannot be determined that it is directly related to the technique itself.
The explanation could be that children born after assisted reproduction are more frequently underweight and that could be the cause of the small increase in cancer risk.
In any case, the news is a peace of mind for parents knowing that assisted reproduction techniques are not an added risk factor for the health of their children.
