Why IVF babies have slightly higher childhood cancer risk

While IVF babies have a slightly higher cancer risk, the odds are still very low. Photo / Getty Images

According to a new study, babies who are conceived via IVF may have a slightly higher chance of developing cancer in childhood.

However, research has found this isn't linked to fertility drugs but rather the parents' fertility issues.

Researchers at the University of Minnesota carried out the study on 276,000 children conceived by IVF, as well as 2.2 million children who were conceived without assistance.

Their research, which spanned 10 years, showed that cancer rates were 17 per cent higher in IVF kids.

The study, led by Dr Logan Spector, looked to confirm exactly where these health risks came from, in order to provide the best data for parents.

"We found, at most, a small, marginally significant association between IVF and overall cancer in childhood," he wrote in the study, published in the Journal for the American Medical Association.

Cancer rates were 17 per cent higher in kids conceived with IVF. Photo / Getty Images

"We found no association of specific modes of IVF treatment or indication for IVF with overall cancer or embryonal tumours."

The risk was not only small but was also limited to rare liver tumours that were linked to hereditary infertility issues.

"Despite the large size of the study, these results do not definitively establish an association between IVF and embryonal tumours," they said.

The researchers were adamant that continued follow-up for cancer occurrence among children conceived via IVF was warranted.

Dr Spector has published various studies pointing to increased health risks in babies born with assisted reproductive technologies.