Purpose The aim of this study was to evaluate long-term embryo cryopreservation, utilization, and success rate in patients subjected to gonadotoxic treatments in the context of cancer. Methods This is a retrospective study on patients (n=54) undergoing ovarian stimulation and IVF for fertility preservation between January 1997 and June 2014. Embryos were slowfrozen and stored until the women were cured and able to undergo embryo transfer. Results Fifty-four women underwent 66 oocyte pick-up procedures in total, and embryos were obtained from 52 of the 54 patients. Four patients died before their frozen embryos could be thawed. Of the remaining 48, 9 women returned to use their embryos, resulting in 6 pregnancies (66 % cumulative pregnancy rate), two of which ended in miscarriage. The live birth rate per patient was thus 44 % (4/9). The true come-back rate, calculated after applicable exclusions, was found to be 23 %. Conclusion IVF followed by embryo freezing is a widely established technique for fertility preservation, but little has been published on the outcomes in cancer patients. While we found the number of good-quality embryos to be lower than in a normal population, the cumulative live birth rate was similar to that achieved with fresh embryos in non-cancer patients. The utilization rate of this fertility preservation method can be considered high.
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