Birth defects linked to risk of cancer in later life

The odds of cancer were highest in people with chromosomal anomalies such as Down’s syndrome. — 123rf.com

People born with major birth defects face a higher risk of cancer throughout life, although the relative risk is greatest in childhood and then declines, finds a study published by The BMJ.

The researchers found a continued increased risk of cancer in people who had been born with both non-chromosomal and chromosomal anomalies, suggesting that birth defects may share a common cause with some forms of cancer, be that genetic, environmental, or a combination of the two.