A novel procedure that involves the transplantation of cryopreserved ovarian tissues helped a number of women conceive and have babies after undergoing cancer treatments.
Cancer affects many different aspects of a woman, including fertility. The treatments, in particular, can alter the natural fertilization process, preventing her from conceiving. As an example, chemotherapy drugs, depending on the dosage and the length of time they were administered, could damage the eggs, the sex cells of women, found in the ovaries. Unlike men, women have all the eggs they needed to conceive by the time they are born. Although some women continue to conceive after treatment, not everyone is lucky.
The procedure of preserving their ovarian tissues before undergoing treatment has already been a subject of some studies. However, this is the first time that a large group of women have been considered.
The Danish study followed 41 women diagnosed with cancer and who underwent the cryopreservation procedure from 2003 to 2014 with a follow-up on their fertility outcomes. Among them, at least 32 expressed their desire to get pregnant.
The procedure is characterized by the removal of one of the ovarian tissues of the women for cryopreservation or freezing at extremely cold temperatures. Once the cancer treatments are over, the women's respective ovarian tissues are then attached to the remaining ovary. The transplanted tissues will encourage the resumption of the remaining ovary's function and the woman's fertilization process. If the remaining ovary is no longer suitable, the ovarian tissue may be transplanted in the abdominal cavity, but the women may have to undergo in vitro fertilization (IVF) to conceive.
According to the results, 24 clinical pregnancies occurred among the 32 women who wanted to get pregnant. One of them suffered a miscarriage during the second trimester while two went through legal abortion. Around 31% of the women eventually conceived and delivered a total of 14 children, with one on her third trimester at the time of the study. Three of the women, meanwhile, experienced a relapse, but the study suggests these may not be related to the tissue transplant.
Tissues could also remain fully functional even after a decade of transplant, which may then help those women who wish to postpone having children until they have a more settled relationship or career, as well as older women who are already in menopause.
The study is now published in Human Reproduction.