Abstract
For over a decade, questions regarding the possible link between infertility and ovarian and breast cancer have been raised. According to the WHO, infertility affects 15–20% of couples in developed countries and this rate keeps growing. Infertile couples want to seek reliable information regarding the cancer risk associated with their infertility and the safety of infertility treatments. Because ovarian and breast cancer share the same risk predictors with infertility, the possible links between infertility and these two female cancers have been most widely investigated. Nevertheless, the results have been conflicting. In this article, we will review the potential association between infertility and breast/ovarian cancer in both cohort and case–control studies based on the possible mechanisms of how infertility can affect both cancers.
Financial & competing interests disclosure
The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.
No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.