Preserving Future Fertility in Women Who Undergo Cancer Treatment

Despite the experimental nature of ovarian tissue storage, more cancer patients are turning to this approach with the hope of preserving future fertility. How can risks associated with reimplanting tissue that might contain cancer cells be minimized? To address this question, Israeli investigators developed and tested a protocol to identify malignant cells in the ovaries of women (mean age, 24) who had various hematologic malignancies.

Preoperative imaging identified two women with ovarian masses, who were excluded from tissue collection. Histologic examination of ovarian cortical samples collected for cryopreservation from the remaining 56 women revealed no evidence of malignant cells. Thawed tissue samples from five patients were assayed f…