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Fertility preservation
Background
Overview
Definition
Fertility preservation for patients with cancer is a therapeutic option designed to maximize the reproductive future of oncological patients, including oocyte/embryo cryopreservation for female patients and sperm cryopreservation for male patients.
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Pathophysiology
Fertility preservation for patients with cancer is for female and male cancer patients at risk for infertility due to anticancer treatment.
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Disease course
Fertility preservation techniques for females include embryo cryopreservation, oocyte cryopreservation, ovarian tissue cryopreservation (for pediatric and patients with hormone-dependent diseases), ovarian transposition (oophoropexy), fertoprotective adjuvant agents. Emerging techniques include activation of ovarian follicles, in vitro follicle culture, artificial ovaries, and specific target tissue drugs (nanoparticles, novel fertoprotective agents). Fertility preservation techniques for males include cryopreservation of spermatozoa and cryopreservation of SSC in prepubertal children.
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Prognosis and risk of recurrence
Fertility preservation for patients with cancer is not associated with increased mortality.
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Guidelines
Key sources
The following summarized guidelines for the evaluation and management of fertility preservation are prepared by our editorial team based on guidelines from the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC 2023), the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE 2020), the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO 2020), the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO 2018), and the ...
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