ZIA CP010128 01082 (ZIA) | |||
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Title | Infertility follow-up study: 1965-88 | ||
Institution | NCI, Bethesda, MD | ||
Principal Investigator | Trabert, Britton | NCI Program Director | N/A |
Cancer Activity | N/A | Division | DCEG |
Funded Amount | $56,411 | Project Dates | null - null |
Fiscal Year | 2018 | Project Type | Intramural |
Research Topics w/ Percent Relevance | Cancer Types w/ Percent Relevance | ||
Basic Behavioral and Social Science (100.0%) Biochemical Epidemiology (45.0%) Cancer (100.0%) Behavioral and Social Science (100.0%) |
Breast (15.0%) Cervical Cancer (10.0%) Colon/Rectum (20.0%) Melanoma (10.0%) Ovarian Cancer (30.0%) Uterine (15.0%) |
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Research Type | |||
Exogenous Factors in the Origin and Cause of Cancer Endogenous Factors in the Origin and Cause of Cancer |
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Abstract | |||
To assess the relations of infertility causes and treatment to cancer risk, we have conducted a retrospective study of approximately 12,000 women evaluated for infertility between 1965-1988. These women were ascertained from five large infertility clinics, selected on the basis of their having large number of patients who received ovulation stimulating drugs many years in the distant past. Abstractors reviewed clinic medical records to identify eligible study participants and to abstract data needed to classify causes of infertility and document therapies employed. Using a variety of tracing sources, the vital status and location of subjects were determined. Subjects who were traced and identified as alive were sent a detailed questionnaire. Death certificates were sought for deceased subjects. A number of analyses have been undertaken and multiple manuscripts published, which generally showed reassuring results regarding the effects of ovulation-stimulating agents on cancer risk. Specific causes of infertility were generally less predictive of subsequent cancer risk than type of infertility (primary vs. secondary), although endometriosis was linked with elevated risks of ovarian cancers and anovulation with high risks of endometrial cancers. The above analyses were based on follow-up through 2001, at which time the study subjects were relatively young. We have conducted an extended follow-up of this cohort for both cancer incidence and mortality. These analyses have generally continued to provide reassuring results regarding the effects of the fertility medications. We have, however, observed that women who were prescribed multiple cycles of clomiphene showed some evidence of an increase in breast cancer risk, a relationship that should continue to be evaluated. |