Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Nov 20;18(1):97-104.
doi: 10.1002/rmb2.12256. eCollection 2019 Jan.

Fertility preservation in adolescent and young adult cancer patients: From a part of a national survey on oncofertility in Japan

Tatsuro Furui  1 , Yasushi Takai  2 , Fuminori Kimura  3 , Michio Kitajima  4 , Mikiya Nakatsuka  5   6 , Ken-Ichiro Morishige  1 , Akiko Higuchi  7 , Chikako Shimizu  8 , Miwa Ozawa  9 , Akira Ohara  10 , Ryohei Tatara  11 , Terukazu Nakamura  12 , Keizo Horibe  13 , Nao Suzuki  14
Affiliations

Fertility preservation in adolescent and young adult cancer patients: From a part of a national survey on oncofertility in Japan

Tatsuro Furui et al. Reprod Med Biol. .

Abstract

Purpose: This study evaluated the current status of reproductive disorders and provision of information on oncofertility to female adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer patients in Japan.

Methods: A national survey of AYA cancer survivors was conducted. Children were <15 years old, and AYAs were 15-39 years old. Results from the survivors of other than gynecological disease who underwent chemotherapy were analyzed.

Results: Among the survivors, 41.4% were concerned about their reproductive function and infertility, and 36.2% were aware of menstrual cycle abnormalities. Among them, 15.5% (n = 20) of all and 21.2% (n = 17) of the AYA-onset survivors suffered infertility due to chemo- or radiotherapy and gave up childbearing. These rates were significantly higher than those of healthy AYAs. Although 80.8% of AYA-onset survivors answered that they had received information on reproductive function and infertility, only 55.8% had received information on fertility preservation methods. Furthermore, only 22.4% of all and 42.3% of AYA-onset survivors had received pretreatment information on fertility preservation methods.

Conclusions: Not a few AYA cancer survivors reported reproductive dysfunction. These findings indicate that information provided on therapy-related problems before cancer treatment in Japan was insufficient and highlight the need to improve patient decision-making and support systems for fertility preservation.

Keywords: adolescent; cancer survivors; fertility preservation; reproduction; young adults.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Outline of questionnaire contents. The specific questions and answers related to reproductive function are shown in the gray‐colored box
Figure 2
Figure 2
Primary nongynecological diseases of adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer survivors who had received chemotherapy. Left panel: all survivors, right panel: AYA at the diagnosis
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Loprinzi CL, Wolf SL, Barton DL, Laack NN. Symptom management in premenopausal patients with breast cancer. Lancet Oncol. 2008;9(10):993‐1001. - PubMed
    1. Tschudin S, Bitzer J. Psychological aspects of fertility preservation in men and women affected by cancer and other life‐threatening diseases. Hum Reprod Update. 2009;15(5):587‐597. - PubMed
    1. Anderson RA, Mitchell RT, Kelsey TW, Spears N, Telfer EE, Wallace WH. Cancer treatment and gonadal function: experimental and established strategies for fertility preservation in children and young adults. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. 2015;3(7):556‐567. - PubMed
    1. Letourneau JM, Ebbel EE, Katz PP, et al. Pretreatment fertility counseling and fertility preservation improve quality of life in reproductive age women with cancer. Cancer. 2012;118(6):1710‐1717. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lee SJ, Schover LR, Partridge AH, et al. American Society of Clinical Oncology recommendations on fertility preservation in cancer patients. J Clin Oncol. 2006;24(18):2917‐2931. - PubMed