Abstract
BackgroundImpaired fertility is one of the side effects of effective cancer therapy. Saving the potential or storing the material to enable people to have biological children after cancer treatment can be of high importance to many cancer survivors. Therefore, we designed a study to determine knowledge and attitudes to fertility preservation (FP) in adult cancer patients and the parents of patients with cancer. Participants who completed this survey were a convenience sample of 384 parents of cancer patients < 18 years and cancer patients ≥ 18 years from two large referral hospitals. A 25-item self-administered questionnaire measured knowledge and attitudes to FP. Responses were yes/no, or on a 4-point Likert scale (greatly, usually, rarely, never) scored from 1 for never to 4 for greatly.ResultsMost parents and most cancer patients were unaware of the FP methods of embryo cryopreservation (96.3% and 88.4%, respectively) and sperm cryopreservation (97.5% and 89.0%, respectively). Attitudes among cancer patients and parents to use of FP options, based on a 4-point Likert scale, were determined by financial cost, lack of access and information on FP options.ConclusionOf concern in this sample of Iranian adult cancer patients and their parents is that knowledge of the fertility risk associated with cancer therapy and knowledge of FP treatment options was generally poor, particularly among the parents. To enable cancer patients or their parents to make the best decisions about using FP services, oncologists and fertility specialists should discuss FP options during their consultation.
Highlights
Impaired fertility is one of the side effects of effective cancer therapy
Study questionnaire Based on earlier published data on the issue of fertility preservation (FP) in adult cancer patients [17] and in parents of pediatric patients with cancer [18], and on the basis of 8 in-depth interviews conducted with a panel of embryologists, gynecologists, and oncologists familiar with FP options in patients with cancer, a 25-item self-administered questionnaire was developed to measure self-reported knowledge and attitudes to FP in parents of cancer patients < 18 years and in cancer patients ≥ 18 years
Attitudes among cancer patients and parents to use of FP options by cancer patients were determined by financial cost and lack of access and information on FP options
Summary
Impaired fertility is one of the side effects of effective cancer therapy. Saving the potential or storing the material to enable people to have biological children after cancer treatment can be of high importance to many cancer survivors. We designed a study to determine knowledge and attitudes to fertility preservation (FP) in adult cancer patients and the parents of patients with cancer. Impaired fertility is one of the side effects of effective cancer therapy [3] It affects the future quality of life of patients. The Ethics Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) declared in a 2005 statement “Physicians should inform cancer patients about options for FP and future reproduction prior to treatment.” [3]. Parents of patients < 18 years are responsible for making healthcare decisions for their children. The aim of this study, was to survey knowledge and attitudes to FP among adult cancer patients and parents of children with cancer, and to determine the extent to which health care providers discuss FP or recommend FP to their patients
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