2 out of 3 Infertile Childhood Cancer Survivors Are Able to Become Pregnant

Dealing with cancer as a child can be a terrifying experience. And disturbing statistics show that two common childhood malignancies in particular, leukemia and brain tumors, have increased over the last decade among youth's in the United States.

Yet, for those that overcome the health issue, despite an increased risk of infertility, a new study shows that two-thirds of female survivors are able to conceive.

While prior research indicated that childhood cancer survivors tended to be at increased risk of infertility, most of this research primarily looked at early menopause or ovarian failure from cancer therapies.

For this study, researchers examined a survey of 3,531 cancer survivors and 1,366 of their female siblings, all of whom had been diagnosed with cancer before age 21.

The participants were from 26 institutions in Canada and the U.S., including the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto and the University of Alberta in Edmonton.

Survivors showed an increased risk of clinical infertility, with more than one year of attempts at conception without success compared to their siblings, according to Dr. Sara Barton of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and her co-authors.

The study showed that this association was stronger among those 24 and under.

Sixteen percent of women who survived the cancer were affected by infertility compared with nearly 11 percent of their siblings. The study also notes that it took longer on average for survivors to conceive compared to their siblings, but many still managed.

The study shows that increasing doses of pelvic radiation and alkylating agents, a type of chemotherapy, were strongly associated with infertility, according to researchers.

Study researchers suggested that it might be best to freeze ovarian tissue for those who are undergoing cancer treatment but may want to conceive in the future.  

More information regarding the study can be found in the journal The Lancet.