Hormone treatments, especially those used for in vitro fertilisation (IVF), do not seem to increase the risk of gynaecological cancer in the 6 years following therapy, Dutch research shows.

  The study included 26,428 women of whom 19,840 had undergone IVF in one of 12 specialist centres in the Netherlands between 1983 and 1995.

  A control group, consisting of 6,588 women, also attended these centres but did not take hormone treatments, said the Dutch National Cancer Institute in an official statement. A comparison of the medical files found no difference between the two groups with regards to risk of breast or ovarian cancer.

  Initially the prevalence of the skin cancer melanoma and uterine cancer appeared higher among women following IVF. But a more detailed analysis revealed that this was true in infertile women, whether or not they took hormones.

  A similar, but smaller, Australian study arrived at the same conclusions, said the National Cancer Institute.

  Helen Klip from the Free University of Amsterdam reported these results in her doctoral thesis.

  Klip did observe an increased risk of ovarian and uterine cancer in women who had endometriosis. This result must however be supported by a follow-up study of a larger group over a longer time, she said.