Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 May 13;13(1):7784.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-33664-4.

Association between excessive fetal growth and maternal cancer in Shanghai, China: a large, population-based cohort study

Naisi Qian  1 , Qing Yang  1 , Lei Chen  1 , Shan Jin  1 , Jiaying Qiao  1 , Renzhi Cai  1 , Chunxiao Wu  2 , Huiting Yu  3 , Kai Gu  4 , Chunfang Wang  5
Affiliations

Association between excessive fetal growth and maternal cancer in Shanghai, China: a large, population-based cohort study

Naisi Qian et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

The prevalence of high birth weight or large for gestational age (LGA) infants is increasing, with increasing evidence of pregnancy-related factors that may have long-term impacts on the health of the mother and baby. We aimed to determine the association between excessive fetal growth, specifically LGA and macrosomia, and subsequent maternal cancer by performing a prospective population-based cohort study. The data set was based on the Shanghai Birth Registry and Shanghai Cancer Registry, with medical records from the Shanghai Health Information Network as a supplement. Macrosomia and LGA prevalence was higher in women who developed cancer than in women who did not. Having an LGA child in the first delivery was associated with a subsequently increased risk of maternal cancer (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.08, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.04-1.11). Additionally, in the last and heaviest deliveries, there were similar associations between LGA births and maternal cancer rates (HR = 1.08, 95% CI 1.04-1.12; HR = 1.08, 95% CI 1.05-1.12, respectively). Furthermore, a substantially increased trend in the risk of maternal cancer was associated with birth weights exceeding 2500 g. Our study supports the association between LGA births and increased risks of maternal cancer, but this risk requires further investigation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Technical route on inclusion and exclusion of the study object. *The maximum years of follow-up was 15.
Figure 2
Figure 2
A Kaplan–Meier plot for the incidence of maternal cancer after delivery.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Long-term hazard ratio of cancer after childbirth, according to maternal age at delivery. *Maternal age at delivery between 24 and 25 was control group. *The association between maternal age at delivery and maternal cancer risk is tested to be linear by regression analysis In the First Child group, b = 0.12, adjusted R2 = 0.99, t = 30.51, p < 0.0001. In the Last Child group, b = 0.12, adjusted R2 = 0.99, t = 36.65, p < 0.0001. In the Heaviest Child group, b = 0.13, adjusted R2 = 0.99, t = 42.33, p < 0.0001).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Long-term hazard ratio of cancer after childbirth, according to fetal birth weight. *Birth weight between 2500 and 2999 was control group.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Markestad T, Bergsjø P, Aakvaag A, et al. Prediction of fetal growth based on maternal serum concentrations of human chorionic gonadotropin, human placental lactogen and estriol. Acta Obstet. Gynecol. Scand. Suppl. 1997;165(1):50–55. - PubMed
    1. Gardner M, Goldenberg RL, Cliver SP, et al. Maternal serum concentrations of human placental lactogen, estradiol and pregnancy specific beta 1-glycoprotein and fetal growth retardation. Acta Obstet. Gynecol. Scand. Suppl. 1995;172(1):56. - PubMed
    1. Troisi R, Bjørge T, Gissler M, et al. The role of pregnancy, perinatal factors and hormones in maternal cancer risk: A review of the evidence. J. Intern. Med. 2018;283(5):430–445. doi: 10.1111/joim.12747. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Swerdlow AJ, Wright LB, Schoemaker MJ, Jones ME. Maternal breast cancer risk in relation to birthweight and gestation of her offspring. Breast Cancer Res. 2018;20(1):110. doi: 10.1186/s13058-018-1035-6. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Crump C, Sundquist J, Sieh W, et al. Fetal growth and subsequent maternal risk of thyroid cancer. Int. J. Cancer. 2016;138(5):1085–1093. doi: 10.1002/ijc.29857. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types