Increasing maternal age insufficient to explain cancer increase

Researchers have concluded that an increase in pregnancy-related cancers can only partially be explained by rising maternal age.

The study, which looked at 1.3 million births between 1994 and 2007, found that over this period the incidence rate of pregnancy-associated cancer rose from 112.3 to 191.5 per 100,000.

Although increased maternal age is a strong risk factor for cancer, this 70% rise in only 14 years was too great to be attributed solely to the increased age of expectant mothers.