Risk of Birth Abnormalities in the Offspring of Man With a History of Cancer: A Cohort Study Using Danish and Swedish National Registries

The potential mutagenic effects of cancer therapies and the growing number of young male cancer survivors have given rise to concern about the health of their offspring. Here, Stahl et al examine the risk of abnormalities in the offspring of men with a history of cancer. Results show that the offspring of male cancer survivors were more likely to have major congenital abnormalities than the offspring of fathers with no history of cancer. However, the mode of conception (natural conception or assisted reproductive technologies) did not modify the association between paternal history of cancer and risk of congenital abnormalities. They observe that a statistically significant but modest increase in the risk of major congenital abnormalities among offspring of males with a history of cancer, independent of the mode of conception.