Can the Widely Used Fertility Drugs Clomid and Serophene Increase the Risk of Ovarian Cancer?

Can the Widely Used Fertility Drugs Clomid and Serophene Increase the Risk of Ovarian Cancer?

Medical researchers often find problems with infertility drugs. Every few years, results of studies are published that paint dangerous pictures of well-known and widely used medications. One such study, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, supports a possible increased risk of developing ovarian cancer by women who have taken the ovulation-inducing medications Clomid and Serophene for a prolonged period of time (Rossing et al., 1994).

Clomid and Serophene are different brands of the same fertility drug, clomiphene citrate. Clomiphene citrate is also available under other brand names, including Milophene. Therefore, whether you hear of Clomid, Serophene or Milophene, you are in fact hearing about the same drug, clomiphene citrate.

Clomiphene citrate, under the brand name Clomid, is one of the most well-known and commonly used female fertility drugs. It is used to stimulate ovulation in women who experience irregular cycles or anovulatory cycles (cycles without ovulation). Clomid is particularly common in the treatment of PCOS-related infertility.

In the study in question, Rossing et al. examined the risk of ovarian tumors in a random cohort of 3,837 women who had been treated for infertility at an infertility clinic in the Seattle area between 1974 and 1985. It was noted that the women who had used Clomid or Serophene were 3.1 times more likely to have developed ovarian cancer than women who had never used the drugs. The increased risk was most evident among women who had used Clomid or Serophene for more than 12 cycles. There was no significant increased risk noted in women who had taken the drugs for less than 12 months, or who had taken similar drugs like Pergonal or Metrodin.

Although the conclusions of this study were tentative, the fact remains that, at present, uncertainty makes it difficult to balance the risks and benefits of the medications Clomid and Serophene.

References

M.A. Rossing, J.R. Daling, N.S. Weiss, D.E. Moore and S.G. Self (1994): Ovarian Tumors in a Cohort of Infertile Women. The New England Journal of Medicine, Vol. 331(12): Pp. 771-776.