Safer Alternatives: Fertility Drugs May Increase Womb Cancer Risk
Taking fertility drugs to increase ovulation can actually have a dangerous consequence in the form of womb cancer in later life, says a recent study.
According to the latest study done by scientists, women who take drugs in order to enhance their fertility are more prone to womb cancer than those who do not resort to such medicines. The results are based on the analysis of medical data of women who gave birth in the last 30 years.
According to statistics taken from the study, out of the 567 women who were treated with any type of drug to increase ovulation, 1 percent developed womb cancer. While that may not seem statistically significant, it represents an almost threefold increase over general population figures.
Also, the risk of developing womb cancer rose to four times in 362 women who took the fertility drug called Clomid (clomiphene). The drug induces the body to produce more eggs by manipulating the function of estrogen.
Clomiphene is one of the most widely used drugs as a treatment for couples who are not able to conceive when there seems to be no obvious medical problem. If this does not work, then women are often administered hormonal injections that prompt the ovaries to produce a large number of eggs at once.
Another important revelation by the study is that fertility drugs are also related to increase in the risk of developing breast cancer, malignant skin cancer and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Although these risks are smaller, they cannot be considered statistically insignificant.
“This study didn’t include a detailed history of fertility drug use, and the number of women who developed uterine cancer was very small,†said Jodie Moffat of Cancer Research UK. She added that the samples size used in the study were too small to generalize the findings to the whole of the population.
But experts believe that the findings are important, since the breast cancer drug tamoxifendefine, which also acts in the same manner as clomiphene, also heightens the chances of womb cancer.
A spokesman for the pharmaceutical company Sanofi-Aventis, which markets clomiphene, said, “This safety concern had already been debated by experts and so far no formal conclusion has been established.†He further said that the company was “committed to evaluating any new evidence and discussing with experts and healthcare authorities the appropriate information measures.â€
Safer Ways of Boosting Fertility
A powerful non-prescription fertility drug FertiBella has shown effectiveness as an alternative approach to treating fertility with the use of Clomiphene. Although, widely available in Western Europe, its parent company, LeRoche Benicoeur has not yet released a timetable for release of the drug worldwide. But preliminary results of double-blind studies have generated much discussion and anticipation among fertility specialists.
“These preliminary findings are very promising and could be a breakthrough in the search for an effective and safe treatment for infertility,” commented Dr. Rowen Calderon of the Hadassah-Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The experts also added that a larger study with a placebo and involving around one thousand women was expected to start in the near future.
Additionally, there are a number of practical steps that couples should take to improving fertility. Women should be encouraged to avoid or cut down on the consumption of alcohol and caffeine, as these can adversely affect fertility. Second hand cigarette smoke has also been shown to increase one’s difficulty of conceiving.
Currently one in seven couples has difficulty conceiving, and many experts in the field predict this could double over the next decade. That infertility rates are rising suggests that specific factors in modern day living are responsible. Pinpointing these reasons is essential, since there is always a measureable reason behind why someone is unable to have children.
Sir Brian Kelly is a writer and researcher in the field of reproductive endocrinology at Oxford University