Many young patients with cancer may not be informed of fertility preservation options

the Oncology Nurse Advisor take:

Many young patients with cancer may have limited knowledge of fertility preservation options, according to a new study published online ahead of print in the journal Cancer.

For the study, researchers surveyed 459 adolescents and young adults who were diagnosed with cancer in 2007 and 2008.

Researchers found that more than 70% of those reported being informed that cancer treatment may affect their fertility; however, males were more than twice as likely as females to report being told about fertility preservation options and males were almost five times as likely as female patients to make fertility preservation arrangements.

Researchers found that patient socioeconomic status medical factors, and child-rearing status were associated with whether a discussion on fertility preservation options occurred.

"The access and health-related reasons for not making arrangements for fertility preservation reported by participants in this study further highlight the need for decreased cost, improved insurance coverage, and partnerships between cancer healthcare providers and fertility experts to develop strategies that increase awareness of fertility preservation options and decrease delays in cancer therapy as fertility preservation for adolescent and young adult cancer patients improves," said Margarett Shnorhavorian, MD, MPH, FAAP, FACS, of the University of Washington, Seattle Children's Hospital.