JAMA Pediatr. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2019.0392 (2019)

Children conceived by in vitro fertilization are at a marginally higher risk of developing childhood cancers than those conceived naturally.

IVF is associated with an increased incidence of birth defects and imprinting disorders that are also known to predispose to childhood cancer, yet the link between childhood cancers and IVF is unknown.

Researchers in the United States carried out a retrospective analysis of birth and cancer registries in 14 states and analyzed 275,686 children conceived via IVF and ten times that many who were conceived naturally.

IVF was found to be associated with cancers of early childhood, and this warrants additional monitoring of infants conceived by IVF.