Fertility considerations and the pediatric oncology patient

Recent years have witnessed marked improvement in cytotoxic treatments with a parallel increase in patient survival. Despite efforts done to minimize long-term side effects of these treatment regimens, it is estimated that 40% of survivors of pediatric cancer will suffer from those. Some will be mild whereas others such as impaired fertility will be a heavy load on parents ′ expectations and patient′s quality of life. Gonadal damage and severe loss of function is not a rare condition among children cured for cancer.
Source: Seminars in Pediatric Surgery - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Source Type: research