Fertility Preservation in the Pediatric Setting

Long-term effects of cancer therapy have gained significance with advances in childhood cancer treatment and rise in survival rates. Of the myriad of late effects, infertility is among the top concerns of survivors of childhood cancer. Surveys show that a majority of survivors of pediatric cancers express the desire to have children in the future. Although many patients and their parents are focused on survival at the time of diagnosis, for majority, fertility became an issue after treatment, especially as they became adults and their peers married and began families.