Abstract
This chapter tackles ethical issues surrounding fertility preservation in cancer patients by offering an overview of the main ethical problems which might arise in patients. Main arguments supporting and rejecting the fertility preservation practice are presented including fertility preservation for young children, reproductive decisions faced by cancer survivors and cancer treatment during pregnancy. Moreover, it also shows that decisions to preserve fertility might require further decisions in the future about the use of cryopreserved gametes.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
- 2.
Patient attitudes and concerns surrounding the parenthood after cancer are explored in detail by Goncalves et al. (2014).
- 3.
ICSI is a mechanical insertion of a sperm into an oocyte as the membranes of gametes are affected by the cryopreservation and thawing procedures, which reduces the chances of fertilisation using a standard IVF procedure.
- 4.
PGD refers to pre-implantation genetic diagnosis. It is a technique used to identify embryos with faulty genes and/or chromosomes which are known to cause birth defects or increase predisposition to certain diseases such as cancer.
References
Goncalves V et al (2014) Childbearing attitudes and decisions of young breast cancer survivors: a systematic review. Hum Reprod Update 20(2):279–292
Han SN, Van Peer S, Peccatori FA, Grizi MM, Amant F (2015) Contraception is as important as fertility preservation in young women with cancer. Lancet 385(9967):508
Lauritzen P, Vicini A (2011) Oncofertility and the boundaries of moral reflection. Theol Stud 72(45):116–130
Linkeviciute A, Boniolo G, Chiavari L, Peccatori FA (2014) Fertility preservation in cancer patients: the global framework. Cancer Treat Rev 40:1019–1027
Oduncu FS, Kimming R, Hepp H, Emmerich B (2003) Cancer in pregnancy: maternal-foetal conflict. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol 129:133–146
Peccatori FA, Corrado G, Fumagalli M (2015) After gestational chemotherapy, the kids are all right. Nat Rev Clin Oncol 12(5):254–255
Pennings G, Mertes H (2012) Ethical issues in infertility treatments. Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol 26:853–863
Quinn GP, Stearsman DK, Campo-Engelstein L, Murpphy D (2012) Preserving the right to future children: an ethical case analysis. Am J Bioeth 12(6):38–43
Robertson JA (2014) Egg freezing and egg banking: empowerment and alienation in assisted reproduction. J Law Biosci 1(2):113–136
Shan DK, Goldman E, Fisseha S (2011) Medical, ethical and legal considerations in fertility preservation. Int J Gynaecol Obstet 115:11–15
Woodruff TK, Clayman ML, Waimey KE (2014) Oncofertility communication: sharing information and building relationships across disciplines. Springer, New York
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Linkeviciute, A., Peccatori, F.A. (2016). Oncofertility. In: Boniolo, G., Sanchini, V. (eds) Ethical Counselling and Medical Decision-Making in the Era of Personalised Medicine. SpringerBriefs in Applied Sciences and Technology(). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-27690-8_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-27690-8_10
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-27688-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-27690-8
eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)