[Fertility preservation by ovarian tissue cryopreservation]

Area of Science:

• Reproductive biology
• Oncology
• Cryobiology

Context:

• Cancer treatments like radio/chemotherapy can impair female fertility.
• Ovarian tissue cryopreservation offers a method for fertility preservation.
• Primordial follicles within ovarian tissue demonstrate resilience to freezing.

Purpose:

• To review the potential of ovarian tissue cryopreservation for fertility preservation.
• To discuss the success of ovarian tissue grafting and in vitro folliculogenesis in animal models.
• To highlight the current limitations and future directions for clinical application.

Summary:

• Cryopreservation of ovarian tissue is a viable strategy to safeguard female fertility post-treatment for malignant and non-malignant conditions.
• Successful births have been achieved in rodents using thawed ovarian fragments via grafting or in vitro folliculogenesis.
• Further research is needed to optimize these techniques for large animal species and eventual human clinical practice.

Impact:

• Ovarian tissue cryopreservation provides a crucial option for fertility restoration, particularly for young patients facing long-term fertility concerns.
• Advances in this field can significantly improve the quality of life for cancer survivors by addressing post-treatment infertility.
• The established success in animal models paves the way for future clinical translation, offering hope for widespread fertility preservation.