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Cancer Resources > Cancer News > Cancer News from Reuters > Reuters Cancer News > 2007 > May
Parenthood often possible in Hodgkin's survivors
Last Updated: 2007-05-23 13:50:22 -0400 (Reuters Health)
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - About 68% of patients who wish to have children manage to do so after successful treatment of Hodgkin's lymphoma, Norwegian researchers report in the May issue of the British Journal of Cancer.
Dr. Cecilie E. Kiserud of Rikshospitalet-Radiumhospitalet Medical Center, Oslo and colleagues note that the number of achieved pregnancies and births in such patients has rarely been examined.
To investigate further, the researchers studied data on survivors that included 184 women aged less than 50 years and 269 men aged less than 65 years at the time of diagnosis of Hodgkin's disease. All had been treated between 1971 and 1998.
Survey responses indicated that 120 (45%) of the men and 91 (50%) of the women attempted post-treatment parenthood. Of this group, 76 of the men (63%) and 68 of the women (75%) had a child without use of assisted reproduction techniques. A further 10 men and 1 woman achieved parenthood using such techniques.
The type of treatment was significantly associated with subsequently successful parenthood. The highest probability was in patients treated with radiotherapy only or with chemotherapy of low gonadotoxicity. In addition, in women, age at diagnosis was also a significant factor.
The researchers note that women more than 30 years old at diagnosis "constitute a subgroup for whom cryopreservation of ovarian tissue should be considered."
Men may opt for cryopreservation of semen before treatment, they add. However, because "spermatogenesis recovers in most of them, their potential infertility after treatment is easier to deal with."
Dr. Kiserud told Reuters Health: "Information on fertility issues is important in clinical oncological practice, and fertility-saving tasks should be discussed with patients at risk of post-treatment infertility."
"Females should be informed that both the treatment and their age at treatment influence their fertility potential," she added.
Br J Cancer 2007;96:1442-1449.
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