Fertility preservation in pediatric and young adult female cancer patients

Abstract

As the 5-year survival rate increases up to 80% in pediatric cancer patients, the number of women patients with reduced gonadal function by chemotherapy and radiotherapy increases. The gonadal toxicity of pediatric patients varies highly according to the chemotherapeutic agent and the type of radiotherapy. Although American Society of Clinical Oncology published the guideline for fertility preservation, additional scientific and ethical concerns should be considered for clinical practice. In addition, only the experimental method can be applied for the prepubertal patients in contrast to the postpubertal patients. In this review, we will discuss some options for preserving fertility among women’s quality of life issues.

Keywords

• Fertility preservation
• Pediatric cancer
• Female infertility