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Updated: Aug 5, 2025
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Fertility Preservation Through Oocyte Vitrification: Clinical and Laboratory Perspectives
Published on: September 16, 2021
6.0K
Chemotherapy and female fertility
Ines Sellami1, Isabelle Beau2, Charlotte Sonigo1
1Department of Reproductive Medicine and Fertility Preservation, Université Paris-Saclay, Assistance publique Hôpitaux de Paris, Antoine Beclere Hospital, 92140, Clamart, France; Université Paris Saclay, Inserm, physiologie et physiopathologie endocrinienne, 94276, Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, France.
Annales D'Endocrinologie
|March 26, 2023
Summary
Chemotherapy can cause ovarian damage and infertility. This review explores mechanisms of damage and new strategies for ovarian protection during cancer treatment.
Area of Science:
- Reproductive biology
- Oncology
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Chemotherapy frequently causes premature ovarian follicle depletion, leading to infertility in cancer survivors of reproductive age.
- Current fertility preservation methods like oocyte/embryo cryopreservation or ovarian tissue cryopreservation have limitations and uncertain success rates.
- Understanding chemotherapy's molecular mechanisms of ovarian damage is crucial for developing improved fertility preservation strategies.
Approach:
- Reviewing existing literature on chemotherapy-induced ovarian damage.
- Analyzing studies on animal models and in vitro ovarian cultures to understand gonadotoxicity mechanisms.
- Exploring emerging experimental approaches for ovarian protection against chemotherapy.
Key Points:
- Chemotherapy is a primary cause of early ovarian follicle depletion and subsequent infertility.
- Established fertility preservation techniques have practical challenges and variable outcomes.
- Research is focused on elucidating molecular pathways of ovarian damage to devise protective strategies.
- Animal models and in vitro cultures are vital for studying chemotherapy's effects on ovarian function.
Conclusions:
- Further research into the molecular basis of chemotherapy-induced ovarian toxicity is essential.
- Developing novel molecules and techniques to mitigate ovarian damage is a key challenge.
- Emerging strategies aim to protect ovarian function during cancer treatment, improving fertility preservation options.
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