Fertility Preservation in Young Women With Breast Cancer
According to a Swedish study that tracked women with breast cancer for over 2 decades who underwent fertility preservation, common methods of fertility preservation are safe for young women. Patients in the study were aged from 21 to 42 years. In the fertility preservation group of the study, 97 women went on to give birth to at least 1 child, and 20 of them used some form of assisted reproductive technology. Of 850 women in the study who did not undergo fertility preservation, 74 of them eventually gave birth to at least one child, and 3 of the women used assisted reproductive technology. The groups were not directly compared, as it was uncertain how many women in each group wanted to get pregnant.
There are more studies needed to look at the success rate for pregnancies following fertility preservation in these women. There are also financial barriers in health insurance coverage of fertility preservation. Not having enough information makes healthcare providers limited when counseling patients and making decisions about fertility preservation after breast cancer diagnosis.
Reference:
Fertility Preservation Safe for Young Women with Breast Cancer. National Cancer Institute. Published December 22, 2020. Accessed April 26, 2022. https://www.cancer.gov/news-events/cancer-currents-blog/2020/breast-cancer-fertility-preservation-safe
