A review of fertility preservation strategies for cancer patients in common treatments

Annually, many people in the world are affected with a variety of cancers. Today, with variety of intensive care and multidisciplinary and combined treatments, longevity increases in many cancer patients. Increasing the survival potential with cancer treatment is often associated with side effects including effects on fertility and its quality in young patients. Essential measures to maintain the fertility potential during cancer treatment is of particular importance. This review article was performed with aim to investigate the newest methods for preserving fertility during cancer treatments.

In this review article, to search the articles, three databases of Google Scholar, Scopus and PubMed and the keywords of "infertility cancer", "fertility cancer"، "infertility chemotherapy" and "fertility chemotherapy" were used. The articles that did not include the purpose of this article were removed from the study process.

There are various ways to maintain fertility in cancer patients after the common treatments. Freezing and preparation of sperm, egg and embryos bank, testis and ovarian tissue freezing, the use of fertoprotective agents and the stem cell types are the most important standard methods for preserving fertility in cancer patients undergoing treatment.

Today, before any cancer treatments, it is necessary for patients to receive appropriate counseling related to fertility risks and related support for fertility preservation options before any cancer treatment.