The Late Effects of Cancer Treatment on Female Fertility and the Current Status of Fertility Preservation—A Narrative Review

oleh: Kenny A. Rodriguez-Wallberg, Yanyu Jiang, Tobias Lekberg, Hanna P. Nilsson

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2023-05-01

Deskripsi

Fertility counseling should be offered to all individuals of young reproductive age early in the patient’s trajectory following a cancer diagnosis. Systemic cancer treatment and radiotherapy often have an inherent gonadotoxic effect with the potential to induce permanent infertility and premature ovarian failure. For the best chances to preserve a patient’s fertility potential and to improve future quality of life, fertility preservation methods should be applied before cancer treatment initiation, thus multidisciplinary team-work and timely referral to reproductive medicine centers specialized in fertility preservation is recommended. We aim to review the current clinical possibilities for fertility preservation and summarize how infertility, as a late effect of gonadotoxic treatment, affects the growing population of young female cancer survivors.