Fertility in Breast Cancer Survivors in the Middle East: A Retrospective Study

Autor: Jessica Khoury, Ibrahim A. Alameh, Juliett Berro, Arafat Tfayli, Ziad Salem, Hazem I. Assi, Rasha T. Kakati, Eman Sbaity, Nagi S. El Saghir, Rose Mary Attieh, Fares Sukhon
Rok vydání: 2020
Předmět:
Zdroj: Breast, Vol 52, Iss, Pp 58-63 (2020)
The Breast : official journal of the European Society of Mastology
ISSN: 0960-9776
DOI: 10.1016/j.breast.2020.04.010
Popis: Introduction By the time they complete breast cancer therapy, many young patients are still of childbearing age. We aim to estimate the incidence of pregnancies in women who completed treatment and examine the percentage of patients who received fertility counseling before initiation of therapy. Material and methods Electronic health records of breast cancer patients between 2008 and 2014 at AUBMC were screened for exclusion criteria of having metastatic disease or known infertility, still receiving therapy, and being above 42 years at diagnosis. Data about therapy and tumor characteristics was obtained for the included survivors who were interviewed as well via telephone for information about fertility preservation counseling, pregnancy occurrence, and delivery. Results 451 breast cancer patients were identified. 39 patients remained after application of exclusion criteria. 30.76% (n = 12) wanted more children at the time of diagnosis. 10.25% (n = 4) of all 39 patients treated for breast cancer achieved one or more pregnancy after a median time of 3.83 years after completion of therapy. 25% (n = 3) of women who wanted more children at diagnosis (n = 12) were able to conceive. 23.07% (n = 9) of patients discussed fertility with their primary oncologist prior to treatment initiation. 35.89% (n = 14) of patients were aware of fertility preservation technique availability, but none of these patients used one. Conclusions The observed rate of pregnancy is comparable to the literature. There is a lack in fertility counseling of breast cancer patients, and the rate of use of fertility preservation techniques is very low despite prior knowledge about their availability.
Highlights • There is a low rate of discussion of therapy effects on fertility prior to treatment. • 35.89% of patients were aware of fertility preservation techniques, but none used one. • 10.25% of patients achieved one or more pregnancy after a median time of 3.83 years. • Women may still desire to have children despite their disease status. • We shed light on importance of patient education and shared decision-making process.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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