Department of Pathology, Tygerberg Hospital and Stellenbosch Medical School, Cape-Town, South Africa.
Curr Cancer Drug Targets. 2018;18(6):567-576. doi: 10.2174/1568009617666170620102049.
The aetiology of ovarian cancer is multifactorial with both endogenous and exogenous risk factors playing an important role. The exact pathogenesis of ovarian cancer is still not well understood, despite the number of hypotheses published. Due to an increase in the number of women using fertility drugs, much attention has been focused on the long-term health effects of such drugs. Although fertility drugs facilitate the ovulation process, it is however associated with a significant increase in hormone concentrations, placing exposed women at increased risk of gynaecological cancer. Many clinical and epidemiological studies have examined the association between fertility drugs and ovarian cancer risk. Results from these studies have been contradictory, as some studies have reported an increased risk of ovarian cancer while others reported no increased risk. Nevertheless, recent studies have shown that women who used fertility drugs and did not conceive had a higher risk of developing ovarian cancer, compared to women who used fertility drugs and conceived and delivered successfully. This review discusses the effect of fertility drugs on the risk of developing ovarian cancer, providing details on four possible scenarios associated with fertility treatment. In addition, the limitations of previous studies and their impact on our understanding of the association between fertility drugs and ovarian cancer have also been highlighted.
卵巢癌的病因是多因素的，内源性和外源性危险因素都起着重要作用。尽管已经发表了许多假说，但卵巢癌的确切发病机制仍未被很好地理解。由于使用生育药物的妇女人数增加，人们非常关注这些药物的长期健康影响。虽然生育药物促进了排卵过程，但它与激素浓度的显著增加有关，使暴露于这些药物的妇女面临更高的妇科癌症风险。许多临床和流行病学研究都探讨了生育药物与卵巢癌风险之间的关联。这些研究的结果相互矛盾，一些研究报告说卵巢癌风险增加，而另一些研究则报告说风险没有增加。然而，最近的研究表明，与成功使用生育药物受孕并分娩的妇女相比，使用生育药物但未受孕的妇女患卵巢癌的风险更高。这篇综述讨论了生育药物对卵巢癌风险的影响，详细介绍了与生育治疗相关的四种可能情况。此外，还强调了以前研究的局限性及其对我们理解生育药物与卵巢癌之间关联的影响。
