Children born from frozen embryos have an increased risk of tumors. This conclusion was reached by scientists from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden.
Embryo freezing procedure has gained huge popularity in recent years. With its help, many women postpone pregnancy and childbirth to a later date in order to focus on a career or on finding suitable life partners. And now Swedish researchers have proved that children born from such thawed embryos have a higher risk of cancer. The fact is that when thawing embryos, certain chemicals are used that can cause genetic changes that provoke tumors.
These conclusions are based on the study of the health of almost 8 million young people in Scandinavia. The most common types of tumors in such children were leukemia and lesions of the central nervous system.
The study did not prove that IVF or any other types of assisted reproductive technologies increase the risk of cancer. The connection was revealed only between the freezing of embryos and the subsequent appearance of children based on them. Assistive technologies make it possible to create an embryo from an egg and a sperm into a laboratory. Usually it is immediately transferred to the uterus, but now the practice of freezing such embryos and their subsequent thawing is becoming increasingly popular.