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. 2018 Dec;14(29):3059-3072.
doi: 10.2217/fon-2018-0278. Epub 2018 Nov 26.

The National Physicians Cooperative: transforming fertility management in the cancer setting and beyond

Brigid M Smith  1 , Francesca E Duncan  1 , Lauren Ataman  1 , Kristin Smith  1   2 , Gwendolyn P Quinn  3 , R Jeffrey Chang  4 , Courtney Finlayson  5   6 , Kyle Orwig  7   8 , Hanna Valli-Pulaski  7   8 , Molly B Moravek  9 , Mary B Zelinski  10   11 , H Irene Su  12 , Wendy Vitek  13 , James F Smith  14 , Jacqueline S Jeruss  15   16 , Clarisa Gracia  17 , Christos Coutifaris  17 , Divya Shah  17 , Leena Nahata  18   19 , Veronica Gomez-Lobo  20 , Leslie Coker Appiah  21 , Robert E Brannigan  22 , Valerie Gillis  22 , William Gradishar  23 , Asma Javed  24 , Alice S Rhoton-Vlasak  25 , Laxmi A Kondapalli  26 , Evelyn Neuber  27 , Jill P Ginsberg  28 , Charles H Muller  29 , Jennifer Hirshfeld-Cytron  30 , William H Kutteh  31   32   33 , Steven R Lindheim  34 , Brooke Cherven  35 , Lillian R Meacham  36 , Pooja Rao  37 , Lilibeth Torno  38 , Leonard S Sender  38 , Susan T Vadaparampil  39   40 , Jodi L Skiles  41   42 , Tara Schafer-Kalkhoff  43 , Oliva J Frias  43 , Julia Byrne  44 , Lynn M Westphal  45 , Danny J Schust  46 , James L Klosky  36   47 , Kate A McCracken  48   49 , Alison Ting  10   50 , Zaraq Khan  51   52 , Candace Granberg  53 , Barbara Lockart  54   55 , Bert Scoccia  56 , Monica M Laronda  6   57 , Jennifer E Mersereau  58 , Courtney Marsh  59 , Mary Ellen Pavone  2 , Teresa K Woodruff  1
Affiliations

The National Physicians Cooperative: transforming fertility management in the cancer setting and beyond

Brigid M Smith et al. Future Oncol. 2018 Dec.

Abstract

Once unimaginable, fertility management is now a nationally established part of cancer care in institutions, from academic centers to community hospitals to private practices. Over the last two decades, advances in medicine and reproductive science have made it possible for men, women and children to be connected with an oncofertility specialist or offered fertility preservation soon after a cancer diagnosis. The Oncofertility Consortium's National Physicians Cooperative is a large-scale effort to engage physicians across disciplines - oncology, urology, obstetrics and gynecology, reproductive endocrinology, and behavioral health - in clinical and research activities to enable significant progress in providing fertility preservation options to children and adults. Here, we review the structure and function of the National Physicians Cooperative and identify next steps.

Keywords: fertility preservation; oncofertility; reproductive health.

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Conflict of interest statement

Financial & competing interests disclosure

This work was supported by the Center for Reproductive Health After Disease (P50HD076188) from the NIH National Center for Translational Research in Reproduction and Infertility (NCTRI). The below authors acknowledge relationships with the following: J Hirschfeld-Cytron is a consultant in the Natera Genetics Company; ME Pavone is an advisory board member in Ferring Pharmaceuticals; SR Lindheim is a consultant and speaker in Bayer; a medical advisor in Crossbay; a speaker in Abbvie and Cooper Surgical; LA Kondapalli is a memeber of Speakers’ Bureau in Ferring Pharmaceuticals. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Figures

<b>Figure 1.</b>
Figure 1.. States with National Physicians Cooperative member institutions are shown in purple, demonstrating the geographical reach of the Oncofertility Consortium.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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