Preserving Fertility in Cancer Patients is an Important Pre-Treatment Step

One of the most profound issues facing men and women who have been diagnosed with cancer either before or during their childbearing years is their fertility. But many patients are not receiving critical information about how cancer therapies can affect their ability to have their own children after treatment is complete. Reproductive expert urges patients to explore their options before beginning cancer therapies.

NORWALK and Danbury, CT (PRWEB) April 20, 2006 -- According to a massive collaborative report released last fall from the National Cancer Institute, the American Cancer Society and the National Institutes of Health, cancer survival rates are on the rise for the first time in decades – allowing many patients to consider thoughts and issues that go beyond simply surviving the disease.

One of the most profound of these issues facing men and women who have been diagnosed with cancer either before or during their childbearing years is their fertility. But, according to Dr. Mark Leondires, M.D., a reproductive endocrinologist, Medical Director at Reproductive Medicine Associates of CT, and a leading authority on reproductive medicine, many patients are not receiving critical information about how cancer therapies can affect their ability to have their own children after treatment is complete.

“Many systemic cancer treatments, including chemotherapy, radiation and some hormonal therapies, can cause irreversible damage to the reproductive system,” notes Dr. Leondires. “They can shut down the ovaries, effectively launching women into early menopause, and they can destroy the testicles’ ability to manufacture sperm, even when the cancer is not located in the reproductive system,” he warns. Yet, there are promising new ways for women and men to safely preserve their fertility for their cancer-free future, and Dr. Leondires encourages patients to consider them, even if they do not believe they will ever wish to have children.

“Surviving cancer is a life-altering experience for many people, and the process often prompts patients to reconsider a number of key aspects in their lives – from their careers and lifestyles to their decisions about family planning,” Dr. Leondires notes. “Making allowances for the possibilities of what the future might bring permits patients to be focused and at ease during treatment, knowing that they are prepared should their wishes change.”

Advances in infertility treatment lead to fertility preservation methods for cancer patients

Dr. Leondires points out that a number of procedures that have been developed to assist couples struggling with infertility can also help cancer patients to preserve their fertility prior to beginning treatment that can be damaging to the reproductive system. For example:

-In Vitro Fertilization technology can be used when either partner in a committed relationship is facing a cancer diagnosis and treatment. Doctors can harvest mature eggs and sperm, join them in the petri dish to create an embryo, and then freeze it for implantation later. However, IVF may be a poor choice if the female partner is affected, because the process of stimulating the ovaries to make multiple eggs and waiting for them to mature can take up to 6-8 weeks. “Usually, cancer therapy cannot be postponed for this long to accommodate fertility preservation treatment,” Dr. Leondires admits. What’s more, the hormone injections required may be detrimental to certain estrogen-sensitive tumors.

-Sperm Banking is a simple and effective procedure when the male is affected. In fact, it can and should be considered for any post-pubescent male undergoing cancer treatment. “Studies show that by the age of 13 or 14, teenage boys have viable sperm,” Dr. Leondires points out. “In the teen population it may be particularly important to encourage fertility preservation before cancer treatment, since the likelihood that they have not come to a meaningful decision regarding adult family planning issues is so high,” he adds.

-Oarian Cryopreservation is a new alternative to oocyte, or egg, freezing for women. While oocyte cryopreservation has met with little success due to the fact that the eggs tend to lose viability during the thaw cycle. New methods of freezing include obtaining immature eggs and ovarian cortical strips. These methods are developing and are showing more promise. With continued advances in egg cryopreservation women will have many more reproductive options.

“While fertility preservation is still a changing, emerging field of reproductive medicine, there are obviously many things we can do today to help cancer patients feel at ease about their chances of achieving a healthy pregnancy in the future,” Dr. Leondires concludes.

Citation: "Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, 1975-2002, Featuring Population-Based Trends in Cancer Treatment." Published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (October 5, 2005, Vol. 97, No. 19: 1407-1427). First author: Brenda K. Edwards, PhD, National Cancer Institute.

2. Reference: CA Cancer J Clin 2005; 55:211-228; © 2005 http://caonline.amcancersoc.org/cgi/content/full/55/4/211#SEC3

Bio:

Dr. Mark P. Leondires, M.D., FACOG, is a leading authority on reproductive medicine. Dr. Leondires is board certified in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. He is a member of the Society of Reproductive Endocrinologists, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Dr. Leondires earned his medical degree from the University of Vermont College of Medicine and completed his residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Maine Medical Center in Portland, Maine. Dr. Leondires completed a fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. After completion of his training, he fulfilled his military obligation by serving as the ART Director for the largest and most successful program in the military health care system at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. During this time he was an Assistant Professor at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences and clinical faculty for the Combined Fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology. Dr. Leondires is currently Medical Director and lead physician with Reproductive Medicine Associates of Connecticut (RMA-CT) in Norwalk. Along with numerous teaching and research activities, Dr. Leondires has published articles in professional medical journals, national consumer magazines and newspapers, as well as abstracts and book chapters. More information about Reproductive Medicine Associates of Connecticut is available at www.rmact.com.

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