[Uterus after irradiation]

Today, the good prognosis of girl's cancers raises the question of her future fertility. Several studies have focused on preservation of ovarian function, but the uterus, irradiated in childhood, is a crucial component to bear in mind because the somatic damages, in terms of endometrial and myometrial atrophy, scar fibrosis and hypovascularization, are negative factors for the establishment and maintenance of a pregnancy and for a convenient labour. Consequences for procreation are related to the morphologic uterine sequelae and its altered function: early miscarriages, abnormal placentation etc. In addition to some spontaneous pregnancies reported in literature, a few pregnancies, for women experiencing a premature iatrogenic ovarian failure due to mild irradiation, have been obtained after in vitro fertilization and oocyte donation with increased estrogen treatment. Recently, a real hope has surged in relation to the opportunity to reverse the radio-induced fibrosis and thus to obtain a better trophic uterus, using the antioxidant pathway. So, a treatment combining pentoxifylline 800 mg/d and tocopherol 1000 IU/d for 12 months allowed improvement of local uterine conditions such as endometrial thickness (x2), myometrial dimensions (x1.5) and uterine vascularization in all six sterile women studied, who have received high irradiation in childhood (>or=45 Gy). Moreover, two women mildly irradiated (#20 Gy) with endometrium resisting to physiological estrogen status, became spontaneously pregnant after using this combined treatment, and gave birth to healthy children. Further studies are in progress to assess, among other questions, the interest of this therapeutic direction.