Fertility treatments and childhood acute leukemia

Abstract

SUMMARY Fertility treatments are enjoying increasing use around the world. As they intervene at such a sensitive time at the start of development, the effects of these treatments on children have been closely scrutinized, with generally reassuring results. Reports of a possible slightly increased risk of acute leukemia (AL) in children born after assisted reproductive technology have been investigated by a series of studies. Research in this field could provide clues not only to the effects of different treatments, but perhaps also to the etiology of AL, which remains largely enigmatic. This special report investigates the evidence of a possible association specifically between childhood AL and assisted reproductive technology, and offers an outlook for the direction of this important field in the future.