Infertility and risk of ovarian cancer: A systematic review and meta analysis.

Abstract

Post-modernization has increased infertility globally. Infertility can cause ovarian, breast, and endometrial cancers. Recent studies have shown that a substantial proportion of couples undergoing infertility treatment develop cancer. However, existing studies yielded inconsistent results. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis to determine whether infertility increases the risk of ovarian cancer. Our systematic review and meta-analysis intended to identify the association between ovarian cancer and infertility based on the existing research. In accordance with PRISMA guidelines, this review contains studies on infertility and ovarian cancer as an outcome measure among ovarian cancer groups and those not having cancer. Two authors independently retrieved the articles through electronic databases such as PubMed and Scopus. This review includes 25 studies published worldwide between 2001 and 2022. This systematic review has been registered with the International Prospective Registry of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) (CRD CRD42021288860). The systematic review included 25 articles, while the meta-analysis included four. In total, data from 84,49,557 participants in 25 studies were extracted (21 cohort studies and 4 case-control studies). The global prevalence of ovarian cancer among women with a history of infertility was 0.5%. The calculated OR of developing ovarian cancer as a result of infertility was 1.35 (95% CI: 0.92-1.97). The pooled odds ratio of developing ovarian cancer as a result of infertility drug use was 0.93 (95% CI: 0.94-2.46). Pooled effect was shown to be stable and reliable by cumulative meta-analysis. The current meta-analysis showed that women who used infertility drugs had a higher risk of developing OC than those having a history of infertility.