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Psychological State and Decision Perceptions of Male and Female Cancer Patients on Fertility Preservation

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Abstract

Objective

This study explored the emotional state and decision perceptions of fertility preservation (FP) decisions of male and female cancer patients undergoing FP.

Setting

Obstetrics & Gynecology Hospital of Fudan University.

Method

All patients with a cancer diagnosis were referred by their physician to contact a fertility preservation specialist for FP plan discussion. After FP counseling, participants completed sociodemographic and basic information surveys and validated psychological and decisional scales.

Results

The final sample included 17 male and 16 female cancer FP patients. Overall, 85% of participants reported currently undergoing moderate to severe depression and anxiety states. Sex differences were found in both depression and anxiety states (P < 0.05). Both genders demonstrated a low level of regret in the decision to preserve fertility, indicating that participants felt they had made the right decision. However, there displayed decisional conflict, suggesting that cancer patients felt high conflict when making decisions.

Conclusion

In conclusion, there is a nonnegligible emotional burden on FP patients who have already undergone a painful situation before the start of oncological treatment. This is the first study to use validated DRS to examine emotional problems occurring in both men and women during FP decision-making.

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Data availability

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this manuscript.

Code availability

Not applicable.

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Funding

This project was supported by the Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Major Project (Grant No. 2017SHZDZX01) and Shanghai Municipal Education Commission(Grant No.C20142).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Obstetrics & Gynecology Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, 200011, China

    Minxin Chen, Yin Zhang, Feng Zhang & Xiao Wang

  2. Shanghai JIAI Genetics & IVF Institute China-USA Center, Shanghai, 200011, China

    Feng Jiang

Authors
  1. Minxin Chen
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  2. Yin Zhang
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  3. Feng Zhang
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  4. Feng Jiang
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  5. Xiao Wang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xiao Wang.

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Ethics approval and consent to participate

This study was approved by the Fudan Human Sperm Bank Ethics Committee (2021–02). All participants provided and signed informed consent prior to the study.

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The authors confirm that the work described has not been published before and agree to publication.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Chen, M., Zhang, Y., Zhang, F. et al. Psychological State and Decision Perceptions of Male and Female Cancer Patients on Fertility Preservation. Support Care Cancer 30, 5723–5728 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-022-06973-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-022-06973-z

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