A new study finds that long-term use of certain fertility drugs increases the risk of developing uterine cancer contrary to common belief.

According to the study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology , women using follicle-stimulating hormone and human menopausal gonadotropin (hMG) for more than 10 years are placed at a twofold greater risk of uterine cancer.

A similar doubled risk was reported in women receiving six or more cycles of clomiphene as an established treatment for not ovulating normally or human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) in those for whom clomiphene was ineffective.

The number of births, however, did not influence the risk of the deadly cancer.

Despite the findings of the study, scientists stressed that the absolute risk of developing uterine cancer following the use of such drugs is still not very high.

PKH/HGH