scholarly journals Fertility Preservation in Female Cancer Patients

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chung-Hoon Kim ◽  
Gyun-Ho Jeon

With improved survival rates among cancer patients, fertility preservation is now being recognized as an issue of great importance. There are currently several methods of fertility preservation available in female cancer patients and the options and techniques via assisted reproduction and cryopreservation are increasing, but some are still experimental and continues to be evaluated. The established means of preserving fertility include embryo cryopreservation, gonadal shielding during radiation therapy, ovarian transposition, conservative gynecologic surgery such as radical trachelectomy, donor embryos/oocytes, gestational surrogacy, and adoption. The experimental methods include oocyte cryopreservation, ovarian cryopreservation and transplantation, in vitro maturation, and ovarian suppression. With advances in methods for the preservation of fertility, providing information about risk of infertility and possible options of fertility preservation to all young patients with cancer, and discussing future fertility with them should be also considered as one of the important parts of consultation at the time of cancer diagnosis.

2015 ◽  
Vol 04 (03) ◽  
pp. 134-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Virender Suhag ◽  
B. S. Sunita ◽  
Arti Sarin ◽  
A. K. Singh ◽  
Dashottar S.

AbstractInfertility can arise as a consequence of treatment of oncological conditions. The parallel and continued improvement in both the management of oncology and fertility cases in recent times has brought to the forefront the potential for fertility preservation in patients being treated for cancer. Many survivors will maintain their reproductive potential after the successful completion of treatment for cancer. However total body irradiation, radiation to the gonads, and certain high dose chemotherapy regimens can place women at risk for acute ovarian failure or premature menopause and men at risk for temporary or permanent azoospermia. Providing information about risk of infertility and possible interventions to maintain reproductive potential are critical for the adolescent and young adult population at the time of diagnosis. There are established means of preserving fertility before cancer treatment; specifically, sperm cryopreservation for men and in vitro fertilization and embryo cryopreservation for women. Several innovative techniques are being actively investigated, including oocyte and ovarian follicle cryopreservation, ovarian tissue transplantation, and in vitro follicle maturation, which may expand the number of fertility preservation choices for young cancer patients. Fertility preservation may also require some modification of cancer therapy; thus, patients’ wishes regarding future fertility and available fertility preservation alternatives should be discussed before initiation of therapy.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (20) ◽  
pp. 7792
Author(s):  
Hyun-Woong Cho ◽  
Sanghoon Lee ◽  
Kyung-Jin Min ◽  
Jin Hwa Hong ◽  
Jae Yun Song ◽  
...  

Due to improvements in chemotherapeutic agents, cancer treatment efficacy and cancer patient survival rates have greatly improved, but unfortunately gonadal damage remains a major complication. Gonadotoxic chemotherapy, including alkylating agents during reproductive age, can lead to iatrogenic premature ovarian insufficiency (POI), and loss of fertility. In recent years, the demand for fertility preservation has increased dramatically among female cancer patients. Currently, embryo and oocyte cryopreservation are the only established options for fertility preservation in women. However, there is growing evidence for other experimental techniques including ovarian tissue cryopreservation, oocyte in vitro maturation, artificial ovaries, stem cell technologies, and ovarian suppression. To prevent fertility loss in women with cancer, individualized fertility preservation options including established and experimental techniques that take into consideration the patient’s age, marital status, chemotherapy regimen, and the possibility of treatment delay should be provided. In addition, effective multidisciplinary oncofertility strategies that involve a highly skilled and experienced oncofertility team consisting of medical oncologists, gynecologists, reproductive biologists, surgical oncologists, patient care coordinators, and research scientists are necessary to provide cancer patients with high-quality care.


2019 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 117955811984800 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taichi Akahori ◽  
Dori C Woods ◽  
Jonathan L Tilly

Historically, approaches designed to offer women diagnosed with cancer the prospects of having a genetically matched child after completion of their cytotoxic treatments focused on the existing oocyte population as the sole resource available for clinical management of infertility. In this regard, elective oocyte and embryo cryopreservation, as well as autologous ovarian cortical tissue grafting posttreatment, have gained widespread support as options for young girls and reproductive-age women who are faced with cancer to consider. In addition, the use of ovarian protective therapies, including gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists and sphingosine-1-phosphate analogs, has been put forth as an alternative way to preserve fertility by shielding existing oocytes in the ovaries in vivo from the side-effect damage caused by radiotherapy and many chemotherapeutic regimens. This viewpoint changed with the publication of now numerous reports that adult ovaries of many mammalian species, including humans, contain a rare population of oocyte-producing germ cells—referred to as female germline or oogonial stem cells (OSCs). This new line of study has fueled research into the prospects of generating new oocytes, rather than working with existing oocytes, as a novel approach to sustain or restore fertility in female cancer survivors. Here, we overview the history of work from laboratories around the world focused on improving our understanding of the biology of OSCs and how these cells may be used to reconstitute “artificial” ovarian tissue in vitro or to regenerate damaged ovarian tissue in vivo as future fertility-preservation options.


2007 ◽  
Vol 148 (47) ◽  
pp. 2219-2224
Author(s):  
Zoltán Langmár ◽  
Máté Mátrai ◽  
Ferenc Bánhidy ◽  
Sándor Csömör

A modern, kombinált onkoterápiás módszerek egyre jobb túlélési eredményeket és életminőséget biztosítanak, ezért várhatóan mind nagyobb számban lesznek olyan páciensek, akik a reproduktív funkciók megőrzésének igényével lépnek fel. Több módszer áll rendelkezésünkre, amellyel biztosítható a termékenység az onkoterápia kapcsán. Annak ellenére, hogy az eljárások többsége még kísérleti stádiumban van, és a hatékonyságuk, valamint biztonságosságuk nem pontosan meghatározott, a fertilitás megőrzésének lehetőségei mindenképpen ígéretesek. A szervezeten kívüli megtermékenyítés és az embriók krioprezervációja kidolgozott eljárás, de kivitelezése késlekedést okoz az onkoterápia megkezdésében, ami bizonyos ráktípusok esetében kockázatos lehet. Emellett a magas ösztrogénszinteket eredményező petefészek-stimulációs kezelések ellenjavalltak ösztrogénfüggő daganatok fennállása esetén. Az érett petesejtek krioprezervációját követően, intracitoplazmatikus spermiuminjekció segítségével végzett in vitro fertilizáció kivitelezhető lehet, de alkalmazhatósága korlátozott az alacsony sikerességi arány miatt. A petefészekszövet fagyasztással történő konzerválására és sikeres autotranszplantációjára vonatkozó klinikai tanulmányok ismertek. A fagyasztás/felolvasztás folyamán alkalmazott korszerű technológiák eredményei egyre ígéretesebbek. Ennek ellenére egyelőre még csak egy élveszülésről számoltak be a módszer alkalmazását követően. Ez az eljárás a közeljövőben alkalmas lehet a pubertás előtti életkorban levő nőbetegeknél a későbbi termékenység biztosítására. A petefészekszövet krioprezervációja és transzplantációja azonban egyelőre még kísérleti eljárásnak tekintendő, és további evidenciák szükségesek az eljárás hatékonyságára és biztonságára vonatkozóan.


Reproduction ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 156 (1) ◽  
pp. F11-F27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Fisch ◽  
Ronit Abir

Anti-cancer therapy, particularly chemotherapy, damages ovarian follicles and promotes ovarian failure. The only pharmacological means for protecting the ovaries from chemotherapy-induced injury is gonadotrophin-releasing hormone agonist, but its efficiency remains controversial; ovarian transposition is used to shield the ovary from radiation when indicated. Until the late 1990s, the only option for fertility preservation and restoration in women with cancer was embryo cryopreservation. The development of other assisted reproductive technologies such as mature oocyte cryopreservation andin vitromaturation of oocytes has contributed to fertility preservation. Treatment regimens to obtain mature oocytes/embryos have been modified to overcome various limitations of conventional ovarian stimulation protocols. In the last decades, several centres have begun cryopreserving ovarian samples containing primordial follicles from young patients before anti-cancer therapy. The first live birth following implantation of cryopreserved-thawed ovarian tissue was reported in 2004; since then, the number has risen to more than 130. Nowadays, ovarian tissue cryopreservation can be combined within vitromaturation and vitrification of oocytes. The use of cryopreserved oocytes eliminates the risk posed by ovarian implantation of reseeding the cancer. Novel methods for enhancing follicular survival after implantation are presently being studied. In addition, researchers are currently investigating agents for ovarian protection. It is expected that the risk of reimplantation of malignant cells with ovarian grafts will be overcome with the putative development of an artificial ovary and an efficient follicle class- and species-dependentin vitrosystem for culturing primordial follicles.


2008 ◽  
Vol 63 (11) ◽  
pp. 725-732 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena S. Georgescu ◽  
Jeffrey M. Goldberg ◽  
Stefan S. du Plessis ◽  
Ashok Agarwal

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