Fertility preservation in female oncology patients

With improving management techniques and prognosis, particularly seen in younger women with gynecological malignancy, their desire for future children should be considered as part of patient management from the start by gynecological oncologists. Sperm cryopreservation has been available for the male with cancer for decades, but steady improvements with assisted reproductive technology (ART) give new alternatives and hope for the female. Patients requiring embryos to be frozen before they commence chemotherapy currently need at least 2 weeks for the ovaries to be hyperstimulated to produce mature oocytes to be fertilized and frozen, should a suitable fertile male partner be available. Oocytes from a single woman will, in the future, be able to be safely frozen in an immature or mature unfertilized state, and later donated or transferred. Each oncology patient needs an individual assessment from a psyche-social and ethical point of view and needs to be informed of these advances in ART so that the best future management can be planned.