{"id":2118,"date":"2019-06-28T17:30:26","date_gmt":"2019-06-28T09:30:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.hk\/blog\/?p=2118"},"modified":"2019-07-02T11:04:13","modified_gmt":"2019-07-02T03:04:13","slug":"does-ivf-increase-the-risk-of-getting-breast-cancer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.hk\/blog\/does-ivf-increase-the-risk-of-getting-breast-cancer\/","title":{"rendered":"Does IVF increase the risk of getting breast cancer?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In Hong Kong, we are seeing more couples turning to IVF treatments due to late marriage, work commitments, money, and other constraints delaying family planning. According to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.chrt.org.hk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Council on Human Reproductive Technology<\/a> in Hong Kong, one in six couples have difficulty conceiving.<\/p>\n<p>In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) is a revolutionary procedure that involves fertilizing an egg outside of the body and then planting the resulting embryo back into the woman\u2019s uterus. Since <a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/women\/womens-health\/3355633\/IVF-The-birth-that-started-a-revolution.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">1978<\/a>, it has transformed the possibility of older women (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fastcompany.com\/90341271\/the-quest-to-extend-womens-fertility-to-50\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">up to their late 40s<\/a>) falling pregnant.<\/p>\n<p>However, recent concerns over a relationship between In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) and subsequent breast cancer has been ameliorated by a large study conducted by researchers at Copenhagen University.<\/p>\n<p>In this article by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.hk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pacific Prime Hong Kong<\/a>, we will examine the latest study and look at the impact this will have on maternity coverage for those in Hong Kong.<\/p>\n<h2>Breast cancer<\/h2>\n<p>Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women worldwide, affecting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC5551049\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">one in eight women<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.medicalnewstoday.com\/articles\/322832.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Signs and symptoms<\/a> of breast cancer may include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A breast lump or thickening that feels different from the surrounding tissue<\/li>\n<li>Changes in the size, shape, or appearance of the breast<\/li>\n<li>Changes to the skin over the breast, such as dimpling<\/li>\n<li>A newly inverted nipple<\/li>\n<li>Peeling, scaling, crusting, or flaking of the pigmented area of skin surrounding the nipple (areola), or breast skin<\/li>\n<li>Redness or pitting of the skin over your breast, like the skin of an orange<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The most common kinds of breast cancer are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.breastcancer.org\/symptoms\/types\/idc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Invasive ductal carcinoma<\/a>: The cancer cells grow outside the ducts into other parts of the breast tissue. Invasive cancer cells can also spread, or metastasize, to other parts of the body.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mayoclinic.org\/diseases-conditions\/invasive-lobular-carcinoma\/symptoms-causes\/syc-20373973\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Invasive lobular carcinoma<\/a>: Cancer cells spread from the lobules to the breast tissues that are close by. These invasive cancer cells can also spread to other parts of the body.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Risk factors of breast cancer<\/h2>\n<p>The following factors increase the risk of developing breast cancer:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/pdfs.semanticscholar.org\/39e2\/0bdc86865d86402972a58ffaf5d35da76c31.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Exogenous sex steroid<\/a> exposure<\/li>\n<li>Early <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ascopost.com\/issues\/april-15-2013\/effects-of-menarche-and-menopause-on-breast-cancer-risk-meta-analysis-findings\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">menarche<\/a> and late menopause in combination with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rbmojournal.com\/article\/S1472-6483(13)00015-1\/pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">nulliparity\u00a0<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Fertility treatments can temporarily induce supra-physiological circulating sex steroid levels and therefore could theoretically increase breast cancer risk.<\/p>\n<h2>A new study announced a new relationship between IVF and breast cancer<\/h2>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/2019\/06\/25\/ivf-treatment-increases-risk-breast-cancer-major-study-finds\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">latest study<\/a> from a team of researchers at Copenhagen University tracked 59,000 women who gave birth after undergoing fertility treatment and then compared them with 567,000 women of equal age who had a child naturally.<\/p>\n<p>The new study suggests that IVF treatment increases the risk of developing breast cancer. Drugs used to stimulate the ovaries into producing more eggs seem to be the link between breast cancer and IVF.<\/p>\n<p>The data gathered and analyzed over the 21 year period indicates that women over 40 who undergo the treatment are <a href=\"http:\/\/www.panarmenian.net\/eng\/news\/270377\/IVF_in_older_women_linked_to_higher_breast_cancer_risk_study\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">65 percent<\/a> more likely to develop the disease.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/2019\/06\/25\/ivf-treatment-increases-risk-breast-cancer-major-study-finds\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Professor Geeta Nargund, from St George\u2019s Hospital<\/a>, London, said:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cThis is a finding of great significance. Women are more prone to breast cancer as they get older, particularly if they have never given birth to a child. On top of that, if you add stimulation drugs which increase estrogen levels, this risk further appears to be increased&#8221;. She added: \u201cThis is a wake-up call about the use of high dose stimulation in IVF, especially in women over the age of 40. We must act now as a precaution.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Overall, the risk of developing cancer in the age range of the women in the study was low.<\/p>\n<p>There is a 0.6 percent chance of getting breast cancer with no IVF, compared to a 0.8 percent chance with IVF following the treatment.<\/p>\n<h2>Health insurance and IVF treatment<\/h2>\n<p>It is important to note that most health insurance policies do not cover IVF treatment. A select number of insurers may cover In Vitro Fertilization, but it\u2019s usually considered a maternity benefit meaning you\u2019ll need to obtain maternity insurance for the insurer to consider claims.<\/p>\n<p>That said, some plans do cover it without requiring the policyholder to obtain maternity coverage. As every insurer\u2019s conditions on IVF coverage is different, it is highly recommended that you talk to an established broker like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.hk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pacific Prime Hong Kong<\/a> to find out whether your policy covers IVF, or to search for the most optimal plan for your needs.<\/p>\n<h2>Important things to be aware of when it comes to medical insurance and fertility treatment<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>There will likely be a waiting period that policyholders must pass before you can submit claims for any treatment. This will vary by insurer, from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.hk\/blog\/maternity-insurance-guide-released\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">10-12 months to up to 2 years<\/a>. Family planning is recommended.<\/li>\n<li>Infertility treatments are a complex issue in relation to insurance. Some insurers may require both partners to secure maternity health insurance due to the cost of treatment combined with the cost of giving birth.<\/li>\n<li>Many health insurance plans will not cover pre-existing conditions<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Download your free copy of the In Vitro Fertilization in Hong Kong guide today<\/h2>\n<p>To get all the support and answers to the most frequently asked questions about IVF in Hong Kong, click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.hk\/guides\/2017-2018-in-vitro-fertilization-guide-hong-kong\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">here<\/a> to download your free copy of our IVF in Hong Kong guide today. Alternatively, feel free to check out the other <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.hk\/guides\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">health insurance guides<\/a> we have on our website.<\/p>\n<p>If you have any further questions, be sure to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.hk\/contact-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">contact one of the experts at Pacific Prime Hong Kong today<\/a>. They are on hand to answer any questions you may have regarding fertility treatment, maternity, healthcare, and health insurance in Hong Kong, as well as give you impartial advice on your specific healthcare needs, and provide a free quote.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In Hong Kong, we are seeing more couples turning to IVF treatments due to late marriage, work commitments, money, and other constraints delaying family planning. According to The Council on Human Reproductive Technology in Hong Kong, one in six couples have difficulty conceiving. In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) is a revolutionary procedure that involves fertilizing an &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":2119,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"In this article by Pacific Prime Hong Kong, we will examine the latest study and look at the impact this will have on maternity coverage for those in Hong Kong.","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2},"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[137],"tags":[76,792,285,286,128,14,791,965,634,603,620],"class_list":["post-2118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","tag-about-maternity-insurance-in-hong-kong","tag-ban_sin","tag-breast-cancer","tag-breast-cancer-in-hong-kong","tag-buying-health-insurance-in-hong-kong","tag-compare-health-insurance","tag-cta_gen","tag-expatriate-medical-insurance","tag-health-insurance-guides","tag-hong-kong-ivf","tag-maternity-health-insurance"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Does IVF increase the risk of getting breast cancer?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A large study conducted by researchers at Copenhagen University looks at the lastest in the relationship between IVF treatment and breast cancer.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.hk\/blog\/does-ivf-increase-the-risk-of-getting-breast-cancer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Does IVF increase the risk of getting breast cancer?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A large study conducted by researchers at Copenhagen University looks at the lastest in the relationship between IVF treatment and breast cancer.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.hk\/blog\/does-ivf-increase-the-risk-of-getting-breast-cancer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pacific Prime Hong Kong&#039;s Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-06-28T09:30:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-07-02T03:04:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pacificprime.hk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/IVF.jpg?fit=1140%2C495&ssl=1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1140\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"495\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jimmy\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jimmy\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Does IVF increase the risk of getting breast cancer?","description":"A large study conducted by researchers at Copenhagen University looks at the lastest in the relationship between IVF treatment and breast cancer.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.hk\/blog\/does-ivf-increase-the-risk-of-getting-breast-cancer\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Does IVF increase the risk of getting breast cancer?","og_description":"A large study conducted by researchers at Copenhagen University looks at the lastest in the relationship between IVF treatment and breast cancer.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.hk\/blog\/does-ivf-increase-the-risk-of-getting-breast-cancer\/","og_site_name":"Pacific Prime Hong Kong&#039;s Blog","article_published_time":"2019-06-28T09:30:26+00:00","article_modified_time":"2019-07-02T03:04:13+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1140,"height":495,"url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pacificprime.hk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/IVF.jpg?fit=1140%2C495&ssl=1","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Jimmy","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jimmy","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.hk\/blog\/does-ivf-increase-the-risk-of-getting-breast-cancer\/","url":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.hk\/blog\/does-ivf-increase-the-risk-of-getting-breast-cancer\/","name":"Does IVF increase the risk of getting breast cancer?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.hk\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.hk\/blog\/does-ivf-increase-the-risk-of-getting-breast-cancer\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.hk\/blog\/does-ivf-increase-the-risk-of-getting-breast-cancer\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pacificprime.hk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/IVF.jpg?fit=1140%2C495&ssl=1","datePublished":"2019-06-28T09:30:26+00:00","dateModified":"2019-07-02T03:04:13+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.hk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/71ad7080285f017402e9505edb8c35bf"},"description":"A large study conducted by researchers at Copenhagen University looks at the lastest in the relationship between IVF treatment and breast cancer.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.hk\/blog\/does-ivf-increase-the-risk-of-getting-breast-cancer\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.pacificprime.hk\/blog\/does-ivf-increase-the-risk-of-getting-breast-cancer\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.hk\/blog\/does-ivf-increase-the-risk-of-getting-breast-cancer\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pacificprime.hk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/IVF.jpg?fit=1140%2C495&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pacificprime.hk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/IVF.jpg?fit=1140%2C495&ssl=1","width":1140,"height":495,"caption":"Does IVF increase the risk of getting breast cancer?"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.hk\/blog\/does-ivf-increase-the-risk-of-getting-breast-cancer\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.hk\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Does IVF increase the risk of getting breast cancer?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.hk\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.hk\/blog\/","name":"Pacific Prime Hong Kong&#039;s Blog","description":"Top articles covering International Health Insurance in Hong Kong and beyond","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.hk\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.hk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/71ad7080285f017402e9505edb8c35bf","name":"Jimmy","description":"Jimmy is a content writer who helps simplify insurance for readers interested in international private medical insurance. He is on a mission in Thailand to support locals, expatriates, and businesses by bring the latest news and updates to his Pacific Prime blog articles. His expert view and wealth of knowledge on insurance can also be found in his blogs for China, Dubai, Hong Kong, and Singapore.","url":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.hk\/blog\/author\/jimmy\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pacificprime.hk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/IVF.jpg?fit=1140%2C495&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.hk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2118"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.hk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.hk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.hk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.hk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2118"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.hk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2118\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2122,"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.hk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2118\/revisions\/2122"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.hk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2119"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.hk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2118"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.hk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2118"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.hk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2118"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}