Future Science Group (FSG) published journal, Future Oncology, has released a special issue that examines the field of oncofertility, which aims to preserve fertility in cancer patients.

As the field of cancer research has developed and improved, the numbers of patients surviving many years post-diagnosis is growing.

This has led to prioritising cancer management and improving the quality of life in survivors.

In cases where the disease presents in children and young adults, their future fertility becomes an immediate concern, due to well-recognised effects of cancer treatments on reproductive function.

Guest Editor of the special issue, Michaël Grynberg, (Hôpital Jean-Verdier, Bondy, France), explains: "Evidence indicates that fertility represents an important issue in patients' psychological well-being, which basically means the possibility of conceiving with their own gametes and, for women, carrying a pregnancy. Over the past two decades, innovative technologies have been developed in order to give hope of preserving the potential for biological parenthood in these patients when diagnosed with diseases with a high risk of infertility."

This special focus brings together a range of articles detailing the latest information across various facets of fertility management in cancer patients.

Content includes original research into the specific effects of cancer treatment on tissues required for fertility preservation; expert commentaries on current, and in some cases controversial, techniques; and reviews' detailing what is known thus far and where we should be focusing our efforts in future.

"We can see that fertility preservation has revolutionized reproductive medicine and biology with direct impact on many medical specialties, in particular oncology. Despite the recent advances, we remain at pioneering levels and fertility preservation represents for sure a challenge for the future decades," Grynberg concludes.

"With the strides being made in cancer research and number of patients surviving in the long-term increasing, natural progression leads to ensuring that survivors' quality of life is the best it can be," commented Sebastian Dennis-Beron, Commissioning Editor for Future Oncology. "It has been a pleasure working with experts at the fore-front of the field to develop this timely special issue highlighting the psychological and social importance of fertility post-cancer treatment"

Source: Future Oncology