Impact of reduced-intensity conditioning allogeneic stem cell transplantation on women's fertility

Available data on women fertility for younger patients treated using RIC Allo-SCT are still limited. We evaluated ovarian function and fertility among female patients younger than 35 years who received RIC Allo-SCT for hematological malignancy or aplastic anemia (AA).

Information on therapies before RIC Allo-SCT were collected. Data on ovarian function and fertility evaluation after RIC Allo-SCT included clinical and biological criteria. Twenty-two patients were evaluated.

After RIC Allo-SCT, amenorrhea affects 68.1% of patients. Ovarian function was impaired for 86.3% of cases. All 3 AA patients have regular cycles and became pregnant after RIC Allo-SCT. Only 6 (27.2%) patients declared to have been correctly informed before RIC Allo-SCT on potential deleterious effects on fertility of anticancer treatment and only 36.8% of patients with ovarian failure had a hormonal supplementation.

Results showed a high rate of ovarian failure, evaluated by clinical and biological criteria. The difference between AA and malignant diseases might suggest that a potential deleterious role was played by previous anticancer treatments rather than by RIC Allo-SCT.