Assisted reproductive technology and the risk of pediatric cancer: A population based study and a systematic review and meta analysis.

Background: There is controversy whether exposure to assisted reproductive technology (ART) is associated with increased risk of pediatric cancer. We aimed at calculating the overall risk of pediatric cancers after ART in a large cohort of exposed women; and to conduct a systematic review and meta- analysis of cohort studies examining overall risk of pediatric cancers after ART.

Methods: All children born in Israel who were members of Maccabi Health Services (MHS) between 1999 and 2016 after ART, were linked to the Israeli Registry of Childhood Cancer (IGS) to identify those with cancer diagnosed before 16 years of age.