Egg freezing for cancer patients: we make it possible

Everyday more women and men are diagnosed with cancer at fertile age. Some of the cancers with the highest impact are breast and prostate cancer.

In women, breast cancer has a high survival rate thanks to the early detection through breast examination and ultrasound controls. Also other relevant type is the gynecological cancer, a term that includes ovarian, uterine and cervical cancer. This kind of tumor can have a direct impact on the fertility, due to the need for treatment in the reproductive areas.

In men, the prevalence of prostate cancer increases with the age, but thanks to early diagnosis, through a blood test, survival rates are very high. In addition, another type of cancer, such as testicular cancer, affects young men of fertile age, although with a lower frequency. Self-palpation of the testicles is recommended for early detection and prompt treatment.

The cancer itself, and the future treatment to reverse its effects, can have negative consequences on the patient’s fertility, causing both temporary and permanent infertility. Therefore, before starting treatment, it is important to discuss with your doctor the different options you have to preserve your fertility before cancer treatment.

In men, the ideal would be to freeze several semen samples, although this will depend on the quality of each patient’s sample. If the first one has very good quality, it would not be necessary to freeze more because we would have a good number of frozen sperm for future assisted reproduction treatment.

In women, there are different options to preserve fertility, but some are still in the experimental phase, so the most used is oocyte vitrification.

The process requires an ovarian stimulation, carried out with hormonal treatment (personalized depending on each patient) through which an attempt will be made to obtain the largest possible number of eggs. These are collected in a simple surgical procedure that does not require hospitalization, for a later cryoconservation by vitrification. The oocytes will be kept in tanks with liquid nitrogen at -196ºC and they will be available till the woman decides to use them or not.