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Preserving Fertility after Cancer Diagnosis
November 26, 2009 |
The focus: the ovaries. “There is current research going on in attempting to preserve
portions of the ovary proper,” says Dr. Edward Grendys. He is Director of Clinical
Research for Florida Gynecologic Oncology and on the medical staff at Lee Memorial
Health System.
He says one technique currently being investigated is cryopreservation. “Either
by removing a section of it, freezing it, etc. and attempting to bring those out
of freezing to use the ovary tissue itself. To my knowledge, that has not been successful
to date.”
Researchers are also focusing on certain cells, called germ cells for clues.
But for now, Dr Grendys says, “A more realistic option is to actually induce ovulation,
remove the eggs after they’ve ovulated, those are then artificially inseminated
through an invitro process that is commonly done with our endocrinology colleagues
and those embryos can then be frozen.”
Some fertility options depend on how far along the cancer is, the age of the woman,
and how the cancer will be treated.
So far, this “induce method” is the best option. “Those actually have a relatively
high success rate of subsequent implantation at a later date after the therapy,
be it chemotherapy, surgery, etc. is completed.”
Fertility preservation options must be discussed with your physician upon initial
diagnosis to determine which cancer treatment may work best with your family plans.
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