Page "Diethylstilbestrol" Paragraph 15

In addition to its carcinogenic properties, DES is a known teratogen, an agent capable of causing malformations in daughters and sons who were exposed in utero.

DES-exposed daughters are at an increased risk of abnormalities of the reproductive tract, including vaginal epithelial changes ( which as vaginal adenosis, means a type of tissue develops on the surface of the vagina that is not generally found there ), an increased cervical transformation zone, and uterine abnormalities, such as T-shaped uterus.

These anomalies contribute to an increased risk of infertility and adverse pregnancy outcomes in prenatally DES-exposed daughters.

The most recent published research on DES daughters ' adverse health outcomes documented by the U. S. National Cancer Institute ( NCI ) appears in the October 6, 2011 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine under the authorship of RN Hoover et al., and lists these adverse effects and risk factors: Cumulative risks in women exposed to DES, as compared with those not exposed, were as follows: for infertility, 33. 3 % vs. 15. 5 %; spontaneous abortion, 50. 3 % vs. 38. 6 %; preterm delivery, 53. 3 % vs. 17. 8 %; loss of second-trimester pregnancy, 16. 4 % vs. 1. 7 %; ectopic pregnancy, 14. 6 % vs. 2. 9 %; preeclampsia, 26. 4 % vs. 13. 7 %; stillbirth, 8. 9 % vs. 2. 6 %; early menopause, 5. 1 % vs. 1. 7 %; grade 2 or higher cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, 6. 9 % vs. 3. 4 %; and breast cancer at 40 years of age or older, 3. 9 % vs. 2. 2 %.

Daughters with prenatal exposure to DES may also have an increased risk of uterine fibroids, and incompetent cervix in adulthood.