Abstract
Background: Many women carry male cells of presumed fetal origin–so-called male-origin microchimerism (MOM) in their circulation and tissues. Numerous studies have reported contradicting results on the relationship between MOM and cancer risk. We aim to quantify the incidence of cancer among patients and to synthesize the available research evidence.
Methods: We performed a systemic search of the PubMed, EMBASE and Web of Science databases. Studies reporting the cancer risk in women who test positive for male microchimerism were included. A random-effects model was applied to abtain the pooled relative risks (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs).
Results: Twelve studies consisting of 3078 participants were included in this meta-analysis. Data regarding risk of breast, colon, ovarian, endometrial, thyroid and brain cancer among patients were subjected to quantitative analysis. Pooled analysis showed a significantly reduced rate of cancer (pooled RR = 0.51, 95%CI 0.32–0.82) among MOM-positive women.
Conclusions: Individuals harboring MOM exhibits a significantly low risk of cancer.