Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 24, 2026

Z-Scores for Assessing Ovarian Reserve in Young Patients Undergoing Fertility Preservation
Published on: October 25, 2024
Options for fertility preservation in pediatric populations undergoing cancer chemotherapy
Joseph Ryan Martin1, Pasquale Patrizio
1Yale University Fertility Center, New Haven, Connecticut 06510, USA.
Abstract:
Due to significant advances in treatment, the vast majority of children and adolescents diagnosed with cancer now survive into adulthood. Toxicity to the ovaries and testicles is a recognized adverse event of chemo- and radiotherapy and can lead to infertility, thus substantially impacting a patient's quality of life. Currently available options for fertility preservation in children and adolescents undergoing anticancer treatment are mostly experimental, and their use is subject to appropriate regulatory and ethical scrutiny. Experimental procedures, such as cryopreservation of ovarian or testicular tissue, in vitro maturation of gametes, or autotransplantation of gonadal tissue, should only be performed in specialized centers, and institutional review board-approved protocols with stringent consent requirements are highly encouraged. The potential ethical issues associated with fertility-preserving strategies should be fully disclosed to patients and their families, and longterm surveillance of cancer survivors and their offspring should be undertaken.
Related Concept Videos
Combination Therapies and Personalized Medicine
The combination of the drug acetazolamide and sulforaphane is a good example of combination therapy to treat cancer. The cells in the interior of a large tumor often die due to the hypoxic and...
Bone Marrow Sampling and Transplants
The transplant begins with high doses of chemotherapy and radiation treatment, which aim to destroy the...
Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Excretion
Infertility in Males
Cancer Therapies
However, cancer treatments can pose several challenges, as therapies used to kill cancer cells are generally also toxic to normal cells. Moreover, cancer cells mutate rapidly and can develop resistance to chemical agents or radiation therapy. Besides, all types of cancer cells may not respond to the same therapy. Some cancer cells respond to one...

