Women exposed to DES in the womb face increased cancer risk

October 5, 2011, by DCEG Staff

NIH researchers followed daughters of women given diethylstilbestrol during pregnancy and found increased fertility problems and cancer risks.

A large study of the daughters of women who had been given DES, the first synthetic form of estrogen, during pregnancy has found that exposure to the drug while in the womb (in utero) is associated with many reproductive problems and an increased risk of certain cancers and pre-cancerous conditions. The results of this analysis, conducted by researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, and collaborators across the country, were published Oct. 6, 2011, in the New England Journal of Medicine.