Women who have their ovarian tissue removed and frozen before undergoing cancer treatment have a high chance of getting pregnant after reimplantation of this ovarian tissue, according to Danish scientists who have just published in the journal Human reproduction, the results of a study involving 41 women.
“Ovarian tissue transplants in women who want to have a baby after cancer treatment are successful and safe. One in three women who have been transplanted have managed to get pregnant (half of them without resorting to in vitro fertilization) and these women did not have a recurrence of their cancer in the years following the transplant “says one of the study’s authors, Professor Claus Yding Andersen, of the Biology Laboratory of reproduction of Copenhagen (Denmark).
When you have cancer, the priority is to treat yourself. But quickly, in young women, the question of preserving fertility arises. However, many doctors are still suspicious of an ovarian tissue transplant, worried that it will cause the cancer to come back. The Danish study tends to reassure them because it shows that none of the 41 women followed suffered from recurrence.
Of these women, 32 wanted to have a baby and 10 did (some expecting twins, 14 babies were born). Three others became pregnant but suffered a miscarriage or an abortion due to a break-up with the spouse.
How did the ovarian tissue transplant go?
When the cancer diagnosis was announced, Danish doctors removed and cryogenized an ovary. At the time of transplantation, part of the ovary was cut into 25 small pieces which were inserted into the remaining ovary, which recovered its functions. The hormonal cycle resumed and an egg was produced every month. Ovarian tissue can also be transplanted into the abdominal cavity if needed, in which case in vitro fertilization is necessary.
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