Intrauterine device use among women with ovarian cancer: a systematic review

Fertility-sparing treatment may be an option for women with early stage ovarian cancer and certain tumor types. This systematic review evaluated the evidence on the safety of intrauterine device (IUD) use by women with ovarian cancer.

We searched the PubMed database for peer-reviewed articles relevant to IUD (copper or levonorgestrel-releasing) use and ovarian cancer published in any language from database inception through August 2009. We sought studies that examined outcomes among women using an IUD at or after ovarian cancer diagnosis.

Of the 250 articles identified by our search strategy, none provided evidence (direct or indirect) regarding the safety of IUD use among women with ovarian cancer.

No evidence on the safety of IUD use among women with ovarian cancer was identified. While there are some theoretical concerns that IUD use might affect monitoring of disease progression of sex cord-stromal tumors, or increase risk of pelvic infection or vaginal bleeding among women undergoing chemotherapy, we did not find any data to suggest that IUD use would lead to worsening of primary ovarian cancer.