Young women who have to undergo cancer treatment can successfully give birth if they store their eggs and embryos, fertility experts heard yesterday.
The first long term analysis of how cancer patients made use of their stored eggs and embryos after cancer treatment was presented at the 36th annual meeting of the European Society Of Human Reproduction And Embryology (ESHRE).
Examining data over 20 years found that fertility preservation can be successful in these patients, especially those with breast cancer.
Dr Dalia Khalife, from Guy’s and St Thomas’s Hospital, London, UK, told the virtual annual meeting that she and her team analysed data on 879 young female patients who were treated for a range of cancers between 2000 and 2019.
All of the women, 63% of whom were being treated for breast cancer and whose mean age was 33, had sought counselling on preserving their fertility before they started treatment.
After counselling, 373 patients (42%) chose to have their fertility preserved by one of three methods available: egg freezing (53%); embryo freezing (41%); both methods together (5%); and ovarian tissue cryopreservation (1%).
Dr Khalife told the meeting that 61 (16%) made use of their frozen eggs and embryos, 44 of whom achieved a high birth rate of 71%, with a twin rate of 9%, when the fertilised eggs and embryos were transferred in an IVF procedure.
About two-thirds of patients returned within two years of their diagnosis and women with breast cancer were the most likely to return for fertility treatment. These patients also achieved the highest birth rates.
"The results are a demonstration of how fertility preservation in these cases can be effective," said Dr Khalife. "Around one in six of those who stored their gametes had a good outcome."
Dr Khalife said oocyte freezing is usually offered to young women, which provides a good chance of future pregnancy. Ovarian tissue cryopreservation is an option for the prepubertal females.
"It is our hope today that all young women diagnosed with cancer and good prognosis are referred for fertility consultation," said Dr Khalife. "Success of such a service requires close work with our oncology colleagues, rapid access, and clear referral pathways to enable a large number of young patients to be treated.
"We do believe that a fertility preservation service must be integral to a modern cancer care pathway. Fertility preservation with eggs and embryos has been beyond experimental for some time. And it’s important that clinicians across the world continue to collect and share data on long-term outcome for all methods, including ovarian tissue preservation, to provide patients with robust information."
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