There is no increased risk of cancer for children born from assisted reproduction, according to a study

There is no increased risk of cancer for children born through medically assisted procreation (MAP), reveals a study published Friday May 3 in the Journal of the American Medical Association (Jama) and that France Inter was able to consult. This study was carried out by Inserm and by the scientific interest group Epi-Phare, formed by the National Medicines Safety Agency (ANSM) and Health Insurance.

Scientists have been studying the risks of cancer in children born through medically assisted procreation (MAP) for several years. As part of this research, they examined the national health data system: 8.5 million births in France between 2010 and 2021 examined with a fine-tooth comb. The researchers first categorized children conceived naturally and those conceived by PMA and then looked at the occurrence of cancers in these two populations. They noticed “an absence of overall increase in cancer risk if we take all cancers”explains Jacqueline Clavel, epidemiologist and research director at Inserm.

“We need a range of arguments to be able to affirm that the risk exists”

If “a small increase in the risk of leukemia for children born after in vitro fertilization” was observed, this increase “is of the order of one case for 5 000 births, which is few”, specifies Jacqueline Clavel. This risk is too low to be really confirmed, agrees Rosemary Dray Spira, epidemiologist and deputy director of the Epi-phare group: “It is very, very low so we cannot, based solely on these estimates, formally conclude that there is a risk. Like any scientific approach, we need a body of arguments to be able to assert that the risk exists.”

Researchers will continue to follow this cohort to better assess longer-term cancer risk. Further studies will then be necessary to understand the mechanisms of PMA which could, if confirmed, induce an increase in the risk of leukemia.