Fertility preservation and cancer: challenges for adolescent and young adult patients

Purpose of review: With increasing survival rates, fertility is an important quality of life concern for many young cancer patients. There is a critical need for improvements in clinical care to ensure patients are well informed about infertility risks and fertility preservation options and to support them in their reproductive decision-making prior to treatment. Recent findings: Several barriers prevent fertility from being adequately addressed in the clinical context. Providers’ and patients’ incomplete or inaccurate understanding of infertility risks exacerbate patients’ reproductive concerns. For female patients in particular, making decisions about fertility preservation before treatment often leads to decision conflict, reducing the likelihood of making informed, value-based decisions, and posttreatment regret and distress. Recent empirically based interventions to improve provider training around fertility issues and to support patient decision-making about fertility preservation show promise. Summary: Providers should be knowledgeable about the infertility risks associated with cancer therapies and proactively address fertility with all patients who might one day wish to have a child. Comprehensive counseling should also include related issues such as contraceptive use and health implications of early menopause, regardless of desire for future children. Although the negative psychosocial impact of cancer-related infertility is now well accepted, limited work h...
Source: Current Opinion in Supportive and Palliative Care - Category: Palliative Care Tags: SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH ISSUES IN CANCER: Edited by Janet Ellis and Elie Isenberg-Grzeda Source Type: research