Abstract
Background
Worldwide, there has been a growing interest in oncofertility issues. In 2017, the Japanese Society of Clinical Oncology published clinical practice guidelines for fertility preservation (FP) in cancer patients. We conducted a questionnaire survey to explore the FP practices among hematologists before the publication of this guideline.
Methods
We sent 427 designated cancer hospitals in Japan a questionnaire about FP treatment for patients with hematological malignancies between January and December 2014.
Results
Of these, 137 institutions responded, and 81 (19.0%) were included in the analysis. A total of 324 female and 441 male patients, aged < 40 years, were treated. The percentage of patients informed about FP was higher in patients treated with hematopoietic cell transplant than those without. Female patients were less likely to be informed about FP than male patients. FP was performed in a total of 27 female patients: 20 oocyte cryopreservation, 2 embryo cryopreservation, 3 ovarian tissue cryopreservation, and 2 ovarian shielding during total body irradiation. Sperm cryopreservation was performed in 115 male patients.
Conclusions
Our findings indicate the reality of fertility preservation in 2014, before the guideline were issued. Further studies are warranted to investigate the improvement in fertility preservation since the guidelines were issued.
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Acknowledgements
We express our appreciation to all the clinicians who participated in this study. This study was supported by a grant from the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (to Y. Osuga.)
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Okamoto, S., Fujii, N., Yoshioka, N. et al. Nationwide survey of fertility preservation in patients with hematological malignancies in Japan. Int J Clin Oncol 26, 438–442 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10147-020-01801-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10147-020-01801-y