Pregnancy drug victims call for inquiry into 'silent scandal'

THREE hundred people affected by a pregnancy drug linked to cancer have joined forces to demand a public inquiry.

- JANE KIRBY

They include women prescribed diethylstilbestrol, as well as their children and grandchildren, who say they have suffered infertility, reproductive abnormalities and a higher risk of cancer.

DES, a synthetic form of oestrogen, was dished out from 1940 to the 1970s to prevent miscarriage, premature labour and other complications.

It was also used to suppress breast milk, for emergency contraception and to treat menopausal symptoms.

But in 1971 US researchers linked it to clear cell adenocarcinoma - a type of cancer of the cervix and vagina - prompting American regulators to say it should not be taken during pregnancy. However, it was still prescribed in the UK until 1978, and around 300,000 British women are thought to have taken it.