Fertility
preservation

question mark

Marcio Malogolowkin, chief of the Division of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, talks about fertility planning for adolescent and young adult cancer patients.

arrowHow can cancer and cancer treatment affect a patient’s fertility?

A: Infertility can be the result of a tumor or surgery to remove a tumor, or of chemotherapy or radiation treatment, which can destroy a person’s ability to produce sperm and affect the ability of eggs to mature. Cancer treatment also can have an impact on hormone production and endocrine function necessary for fertility.

arrowHow big of a problem is this for young cancer patients and survivors?

A: Depending on the therapy received, infertility can affect up to 80 percent of adolescent and young adult patients. For example, some chemotherapeutic agents can lead to a profound or even permanent loss of sperm production in men or egg maturation in women.

arrowWhat is oncofertility?

A: Oncofertility is a new field of medicine that brings together oncology and reproductive medicine with the goal of improving and developing fertility preservation options for cancer patients, as well as mitigating the effects cancer treatment has on future fertility potential.

arrowWhy focus on this now?

A: As cancer doctors we have not paid enough attention to this need. We tend to focus on cancer treatment and survivorship, but may forget about the side effects of treatment that can affect a patient’s ability to eventually have a family. Many of these patients haven’t had a chance to think about having children, and it’s our responsibility to make sure they have the information they need to explore their options before starting treatment.

arrowWhat can be done to address fertility concerns?

A: For males, we can offer sperm banking prior to treatment. We work with the Northern California Fertility Medical Center and California IVF Fertility Center, where semen is collected and frozen for future use. For patients unable to ejaculate, the center offers sperm harvesting and other techniques for preservation. Female patients can undergo ovarian stimulation, egg harvesting and freezing for preservation. We want to offer these options for everybody who runs the risk of fertility problems and make other technologies, such as testicular and ovarian tissue preservation, available to patients.

At UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center we have a mission to preserve the right of our patients to have fertility options.