Use of Fertility Drugs and Risk of Malignant Melanoma: Results from a Large Danish Population-Based Cohort Study

Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskriftTidsskriftartikelForskningfagfællebedømt

Fertility drugs have not definitively been linked to malignant melanoma. By the use of data from a large nationwide cohort of women aged 20.0–45.0 years and living in Denmark between January 1, 1995 and December 31, 2011, we assessed the association between the use of fertility drugs and the risk of malignant melanoma. Information on fertility status and the use of fertility drugs was obtained from the population-based Danish Infertility Cohort. Cox proportional hazard regression models were applied to estimate hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals with adjustment for potential confounders. The study population comprised 1,330,954 women, of whom 86,231 (6.5%) were treated with fertility drugs. During a median follow-up of 21.0 years, 6,139 women were diagnosed with malignant melanoma. Compared with fertile women, women with fertility challenges who had used any fertility drugs had an increased risk of malignant melanoma (hazard ratio = 1.14; 95% confidence interval = 1.02–1.27). Furthermore, the use of specific types of fertility drugs (clomiphene, gonadotropins, human chorionic gonadotropin, gonadotropin-releasing hormone preparations, and progesterone) was also associated with an increased risk of malignant melanoma, with hazard ratios ranging between 1.09 and 1.13; however, the association did not reach statistical significance. Our findings indicate that the use of fertility drugs was associated with a modestly increased risk of malignant melanoma.

OriginalsprogEngelsk
TidsskriftJournal of Investigative Dermatology
Vol/bind141
Udgave nummer9
Sider (fra-til)2189-2196
Antal sider8
ISSN0022-202X
DOI
StatusUdgivet - 2021

Bibliografisk note

Funding Information:
The study was supported by research grants from the Danish Cancer Society's Scientific Committee (R146-A9249-16-S2), the Novo Nordisk Foundation (NNF18OC0052346), the Jascha Foundation , and the Aase and Ejner Danielsens Foundation. We would like to thank Rasmus Hertzum-Larsen for data extraction.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Authors

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