Women who undergo commonly used treatments to prevent cervical cancer are at no risk of pregnancy complications, British researchers said today.
Researchers set out to discover whether premature birth is linked to the treatment that follows the cervical smear test.
Some studies had claimed to find a link with a treatment known as large loop excision of the transformation zone – LLETZ – which removes tissue that may become cancerous.
But a study of 44,000 women in England found no evidence of an effect on childbirth.
The findings are reported in the British Medical Journal today. One explanation may be slight differences in the way the procedure is conducted in the UK and other countries.
Researcher Professor Peter Sasieni, of Queen Mary College, University of London, said: "This finding is significant because approximately 40,000 women, most of whom are of child-bearing age, receive such treatment each year, and scientific literature had previously suggested that if any of these women became pregnant they would have an extra risk of about one in 18 of having a preterm birth.
"Considering all those treated previously who may be planning to have children, there may be half a million women in the UK who can relax now and not worry that they are at increased risk of a preterm birth."
NHS cancer screening director Professor Julietta Patnick said: "We welcome these positive findings about the safety of treatment procedures for cervical disease in England. They are an encouraging reflection of the high standards of our NHS practitioners and our robust system of quality assurance."
Risk of preterm birth after treatment for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia among women attending colposcopy in England: retrospective-prospective cohort study. Alejandra Castanon et al. for the PaCT study group. BMJ 2012;345:e5174 doi: 10.1136/bmj.e5174.
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