Many women face the problem of infertility, and until recently this diagnosis sounded like a verdict, as it permanently deprived the woman of the hope of experiencing the joy of motherhood. However, the development of science and medical technologies in the field of reproductive techniques has given many couples and single women a unique opportunity to become parents.
In vitro fertilization can rightfully be considered a real breakthrough in the treatment of infertility. According to statistics, for a short period of time with the help of IVF, more than 4 million babies were born, this figure was registered at the end of 2010.
ECO - the essence of the process and the main indications
Under in vitro fertilization is understood as a whole list of sequential actions.
First of all, it is necessary to grow a full-fledged ovum, often hormonal stimulation is used for this purpose, then spermatozoa are obtained. A mature egg is extracted and fertilized in two ways in vitro or by ICSI, in any case it occurs outside the woman's body. The fertilized egg is considered an embryo, which continues to develop under artificial conditions for 5-6 days, after which it is transferred to the uterine cavity.
Naturally, the main indication for the IVF protocol is the inability of a woman and a man to conceive and tolerate a child naturally.
However, despite the high rates of successful pregnancy and the birth of healthy babies, many fear this technique in connection with the existing opinion about the obvious relationship between IVF and ovarian and breast cancer.
Can ECO provoke cancer?
In view of the prevailing view that the chances of developing cancer after IVF are significantly increased, many women refuse to carry out the protocol. And, unfortunately, scientists can not confirm or deny the version that ECO provokes cancer, scientists still can not.
To date, everything that we have on the topic, whether ECO can cause cancer, these are numerous experiments, statistical data and little effective research, which in turn contradict each other.
Some experts believe that IVF leads to ovarian and breast cancer. This position is very ambiguous, since in its majority it is based on various publications of the results, conducted observations on this topic. And it does not always take into account many accompanying factors, for example, the age of patients, the causes of infertility, the way of life and a relatively short period of time.
So, many proponents of the version that ECO causes cancer rely on a study in which the risk of ovarian cancer on border and invasive forms was analyzed after passing the protocol. According to the published data, about 19,000 women benefiting from in vitro fertilization and 6,000 patients with infertility diagnosis who did not apply IVF took part in the experiment. Statistical data were also taken into account among the general population. As a result, scientists calculated that IVF participants are at risk of developing borderline ovarian cancer four times more than their peers. The likelihood of an invasive form of the disease does not depend on the passage of the IVF protocol.
Again, this is only one of the versions, in the refutation of which you can find many more such studies.
Also a lot of controversial issues are the subject: can ECO provoke breast cancer.
In any case, IVF is a voluntary and individual decision, each woman must measure her desire to have a child with possible but very ambiguous consequences.