Fertility preservation in young patients' with cancer

Preservation of fertility is an important issue in the management of young cancer patients. Though embryo cryostorage is a well-established procedure, it can only be availed by couples. Recent studies have indicated increasing success rates with mature and immature oocyte cryopreservation. Cryostorage induces injuries on the human oocytes which can be minimized by slow freezing and vitrification. Selection of candiidates is crucial so that the most suitable technique can be offered without any delay in initiation of cancer therapy. Factors affecting suitability are age of patient, assessment of ovarian reserve, hormonal status and type and stage of neoplastic disease. Encouraging results have been obtained with oocyte in vitro maturation (IVM) followed by vitrification for cryostorage. Data on the use of vitrified eggs in routine in vitro fertilization (IVF) show that pregnancy rates can be comparable to those achieved with fresh oocytes.