Women exposed to synthetic estrogen diethylstilbestrol (DES) in the womb face increased cancer risk, study finds
Wednesday, October 5, 2011 - 20:30
in Health & Medicine
A study of daughters of women given diethylstilbestrol, synthetic estrogen, during pregnancy has found that exposure to the drug while in the womb is associated with many reproductive problems and an increased risk of certain cancers. Beginning in 1940, DES was used to prevent certain pregnancy complications, but was later found to be ineffective in the 1950s. In the 1960s, a rare cancer of the vagina in young women was linked to DES exposure.
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