One very common question that bothers women is about side-effects of fertility treatment. Sometimes patients even ask me if they would be at risk of getting breast cancer.
I want to say that there are no strong evidence to suggest anylink between fertility treatment and any increase in risk for women getting breast cancer as, per se, hormone-based fertility treatment does not cause breast cancer. Though there is some evidence to suggest that infertility may be a risk factor in itself.
It has been seen that patients who got pregnancy after hormone treatment were at reduced risk but patients who did not get pregnancy despite these kind of treatments were found to be at higher risk to get breast cancer. In such cases,infertility rather than hormonal treatment could be the possible cause.
In other words, just as age is a big factor that determines the success rate of fertility treatment, breast cancer risks may also depend on multiple factors in individuals, including age and lifestyle.
It is also not right to say that the length or frequency of fertility treatment cycles influence breast cancer risk.
If you ask me about the pros and cons of infertility treatment, I firmly believe that getting pregnant from these hormonal treatments is more important than not getting pregnant.
There are evidences to suggest that not having a pregnancy at all in their lifetime puts women at risk of breast cancer. Delaying pregnancy also can be one of the contributory factors. Having pregnancy once in a lifetime lowers cancer risk. There are multiple reasons for cancer, but factors responsible for cancer get countered, to some extent, by the natural processes or changes that take place in the body during pregnancy.
But it should not be taken as if those who have children would not get cancer. Cancer, especially breast cancer, depends on multiple factors and characteristics of demographic groups, which may vary in terms of age and diet.
Pregnancy is not an insurance against breast cancer but puts you at low risk, as there are multiple factors behind breast cancer.
One common belief is that women not doing breast feeding stand a higher chance of getting breast cancer. There is some truth in this. Just as we say that fertility is a saviour, breast feeding is also a saviour.
We have seen delivery and child bearing in itself is a protection against breast cancer and there are many studies that point towards the link between breast feeding and low breast cancer risk.
Another myth that is common among infertility patients is thathormone-based treatments like IVF or ovulation induction(fertility treatment with medications) can be risky. I always tell them that modern day fertility treatment takes proper care of safety issues.
There are medicines which ensure that hormonal levels remain as in natural cycle while women undergo assisted reproductive techniques with hormone therapies. This is, specially, relevant incancer patients who have hormone dependant tumours and want to preserve fertility with assisted reproductive techniques using hormones.
While fertility treatment and experts are often subjected to scrutiny over possible occurrence of cancer among patients, there is little public awareness about how they are benefiting women diagnosed with cancer to preserve their fertility. This branch of science is called as Oncofertility. We know that some cancer treatments impacts fertility and lowers the chances of future pregnancy. A breast cancer patient who has not had a chance to have a pregnancy before the diagnosis of cancer has an option to preserve fertility by preserving either oocytes or embryos and use them later once recovered from cancer. Fertility centres like CIFAR based in Gurgaon offer a big relief by preserving their eggs or sperms or embryos in safe conditions before they start their chemotherapy or cancer treatment.
Across the world these days, it is now the standard care of practise to inform women diagnosed with cancer that they may encounter fertility risks due to chemotherapy and other forms of cancer treatments.
So, we can say that fertility clinics play an important role in offering quality of life and hope to survivors of cancer treatment
We rarely get patients who directly come to us to enquire about fertility risk with cancer treatment and also cancer risk during hormonal treatment. Usually, they are referred to us by oncologists saying that there is a patient who wants to know more about these risks involved.
I have always believed in being transparent while discussing infertility and associated risks. Some patients come after studying material available on the web and this, at times, complicates their thought process. In such cases, we also involve oncologists and conduct sessions for dispelling doubts.
We can sum up by saying that hormone treatment for infertility in itself does not cause breast cancer. On the other hand, if there are symptoms of persisting infertility in women then it could be an indication of a high risk of the woman getting cancer at some stage in life
This article is written by Dr Puneet Rana Arora, Gynecologist & Fertility specialist (IVF), Centre for Infertility & Assisted Reproduction (CIFAR),Sector-27, Gurgaon, India.
(DISCLAIMER: The views expressed are solely of the author and ETHealthworld.com does not necessarily subscribe to it. ETHealthworld.com shall not be responsible for any damage caused to any person/organisation directly or indirectly)
Visit: Valley Vision News
