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Updated: Jul 8, 2025
Fertility Preservation Through Oocyte Vitrification: Clinical and Laboratory Perspectives
Published on: September 16, 2021
Considerations of breast cancer survivors to return for embryo transfer after fertility preservation: A qualitative
Maria Elena Ter Welle-Butalid1, Liesbeth van Osch2, Bo E van Bree1
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Maastricht University Medical Center, P.O. Box 5800, 6202 AZ Maastricht, The Netherlands; GROW - School for Oncology and Reproduction, Maastricht University, P.O. Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Objective:
To gain insight into the considerations of breast cancer survivors to return or not for embryo transfer after the use of fertility preservation.
Study Design:
This is a qualitative study with semi-structured interviews. The interviews were planned until saturation of themes had been achieved. Content analysis was used to analyze the data. Sixteen out of 35 approached women took part in this study. Interviews were conducted with women who had oocytes or embryos cryopreserved prior to breast cancer treatment at the Maastricht University Medical Center between 2008 and 2016. All women who had cryopreservation more than two years ago were invited for the interviews. Women who had recurrence of disease were excluded. In the interviews we hypothesized the situation 'suppose the menses would have been recovered completely' for women who still had chemotherapy-induced menopause or used an GnRH (Gonadotropin-releasing hormone) analogue.
Results:
Most women had a strong intrinsic motivation to pursue natural conception over the use of earlier cryopreserved oocytes or embryos. Time pressure was the most mentioned consideration to use cryopreserved oocytes or embryos. The wish to use pre-implantation genetic testing (PGT) in the presence of a germline BRCA1/2 mutation was another consideration to opt for embryo transfer. Furthermore, the physician's advice was an important motivation to choose for either natural conception or the use of cryopreserved oocytes or embryos.
Conclusion:
Multiple considerations influence women's decision making on the mode of conception after breast cancer. Although it concerned a single-center study in a highly-selected population, insight into these considerations can help physicians to address these important topics in counseling these women.
