The Daily Mail is reporting that researchers from the Centre for Research in Epidemiology and Population Health at the French research institute INSERM in Villejuif, Paris, have found that children were 2.6 times more likely to become ill with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common type of childhood leukemia, if their mothers had been treated with ovary-stimulating drugs. They had a 2.3 fold increased risk of suffering from a more rare form of the disease known as acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
The study involved a large sampling of 2,445 French children and their mothers, of which 764 children had been diagnosed with leukemia and 1,681 were free of the disease. The French scientists involved in the study are unable to fully explain their findings, which are the first to show a specific link between the use of fertility drugs and leukemia in children.
"It has always been hypothesized that assisted reproductive technologies may be involved in the onset of childhood cancer as they involve repeated treatment at the time of conception and or manipulation of the sperm and egg," said study leader Dr. Jeremie Rudant. "And it is now established that a majority of acute leukaemia have a pre-natal (pre-birth) origin."
Dr. Rudant said previous studies suggested a link between infertility treatments and acute childhood leukemia, but these were fewer and smaller in number and focused either on in vitro fertilization or hormonal treatment.
"Our study was much larger and it's the first time that a specific increased risk linked to fertility drugs has been found," he said.
"The findings indicate that more research is now needed to investigate more closely the link between specific types of fertility drugs and what role the underlying causes of infertility may play in the potential development of childhood leukemia."
Dr Rudant presented the results at the Childhood Cancer 2012 conference in London, hosted by the charity Children with Cancer UK.
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