Knowledge about and attitude towards fertility preservation in young female cancer patients: a cross-sectional online survey

Abstract

Recent advances in cancer therapy have resulted in an increased number of long-term cancer survivors. However, because of their treatment, women might be confronted with impaired fertility. The options of fertility preservation (FP) techniques are increasing. The goal of this study was to assess knowledge about, and attitudes towards, fertility preservation in young female cancer patients. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted including 155 former female cancer patients from English and German speaking countries. The survey consists of questions about attitude towards, and knowledge about, fertility preservation. Results show that knowledge about fertility preservation was limited among participants. Positive attitudes towards fertility preservation significantly outweighed negative attitudes. Knowledge and attitude did not differ according to language or different healthcare systems. Confidence of knowledge was significantly higher in women who underwent any FP procedure compared to those who did not. Greater emphasis should be placed on counselling opportunities, the provision of adequate information and supporting material. A better understanding of these issues will hopefully enhance patients' decision-making about FP options and assist the development of strategies to improve quality of care.

Protocol for the development and acceptability of a fertility-related decision aid for young women with breast cancer in Portugal

“…Compared with a sample of women from the USA, no significant differences were found among Portuguese women on the importance of fertility issues after a breast cancer diagnosis. These results are corroborated by other studies,10 11 demonstrating that women value these issues regardless of culture, background or the health system they belong to 8. For some women, fertility concerns are important enough to influence or even change therapeutic decisions 8…”

Knowledge and awareness about fertility preservation among female patients with cancer : a cross-sectional study

“…However, they also found that significantly more patients with gynecological cancer received information compared to those with nongynecological cancer [33]. In contrast, studies conducted in the US and Switzerland found that more than 70% of the participants were informed by their healthcare professionals about fertility impairment after cancer treatment [31,34]. This regional difference in physician counseling may be due to a greater adherence to guidelines in countries like US and Switzerland in comparison to India, Brazil and Iran [32,33].…”

“…ASCO and ASRM guidelines recommend that patients with cancer should be given sufficient information about cancer treatment-related infertility and available fertility options [29]. However, studies have shown that physicians and patients have insufficient knowledge about FP [30,31]. Chehin et al [32] assessed patients with cancer for their knowledge and awareness about FP and found that only 34% of the women were aware that cancer therapy could lead to infertility and only 22% were aware of FP options.…”

Técnicas de preservación de la fertilidad femenina y experiencia en la Clínica de Fertilización Asistida en el Centro Médico ABC

“…9 Se menciona la importancia de proveer información a la paciente con respecto al envejecimiento ovárico fisiológico, el efecto que suponen tratamientos oncológicos y/o inmunosupresores sobre su fertilidad así como los diferentes métodos de preservación de fertilidad actuales, su eficacia, límites y los desafíos relativos a su aplicación. 55,56 Igualmente el médico debe tener una noción general de los fármacos capaces de alterar la fertilidad y conocer su clasificación dependiendo de la toxicidad que ejercen sobre los gametos para poder aconsejar de manera correcta y oportuna a sus pacientes. 57 En la Tabla 1 enumeramos los principales medicamentos gonadotóxicos.…”