JLE

Médecine de la Reproduction

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Embryo, oocyte and ovarian cortex cryopreservation Volume 10, issue 4, juillet-août 2008

Authors
Unité fonctionnelle de biologie de la reproduction, groupe hospitalier de La Pitié-Salpêtrière, université Paris-VI, 83, boulevard de l’Hôpital, 75013 Paris, France, Service de gynécologie–obstétrique, groupe hospitalier de La Pitié-Salpêtrière, 83, boulevard de l’Hôpital, 75013 Paris, France

Deleterious effects of chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy on female fertility are well known. Before treatments at risk for fertility, it is important to offer fertility preservation methods. Three main assisted reproductive technologies are theoretically feasible: embryo, mature oocyte and ovarian cortex cryopreservation, depending on the oncologic treatment needed, dosage and duration, patient’s age, marital status, emergency of cancer treatment and tumour receptivity to hormones. At least two of these techniques (mature oocyte and ovarian cortex cryopreservation) are recent and associated to still modest results in terms of pregnancies rates. It is therefore important to properly assess the risk/benefit balance, to avoid the patients to be exposed to a greater risk for ovarian function due to the fertility preservation methods, than to the oncologic treatments.