Family building preferences among young women with invasive breast cancer.

Abstract

e24057 Background: The American Society of Clinical Oncology guidelines recommend discussing the possibility of infertility in cancer patients of childbearing age being treated with gonadotoxic therapies. This prospective study examines the reproductive history and future family building preferences of young women with breast cancer. Methods: This is an Institutional Review Board approved prospective study of women < 45 years of age with non-metastatic invasive breast cancer who completed a questionnaire on reproductive history and family building preferences between April 2013 and December 2019. Questionnaires were administered at initial diagnosis and then annually. Results: Baseline questionnaires were completed by 164 women with a median age of 39 years old (range 20-45); 110 (59%) completed the 1 year follow up survey. Clinicopathologic features and treatment are shown in the table. The majority of women (n = 90, 55%) were parous and many had previous infertility (n = 60, 37%) at time of diagnosis. Most women (n = 87, 53%) wanted additional children or were unsure. Interest in embryo and/or oocyte cryopreservation was common (n = 51, 31%) as was interest in adoption (n = 52, 32%). Of the 110 women who completed the one year follow-up, 39 (35%) saw a reproductive endocrinologist, including 22 (20%) who elected embryo (n = 14) or oocyte (n = 8) cryopreservation. Overall, 88 (80%) women declined fertility preservation. The most common reasons included worrying about delay in cancer treatment (n = 10, 9%), fear of hormonal exposure (n = 7, 6%), and feeling rushed into making a decision (n = 6, 6%). Of 92 women with available data regarding satisfaction with their decision to pursue fertility preservation or not, 84% (n = 77) reported satisfaction whereas 14% (n = 15) reported mixed feelings or regret. Conclusions: Young women with breast cancer expressed a significant interest in family building options. However, pursuit of fertility preservation was uncommon despite a high rate of prior infertility in this cohort of mostly parous women. Decisional satisfaction was common. Further study of factors contributing to patient decision-making regarding fertility preservation and alternative family building options is warranted. Clinical trial information: NCT01788839 . [Table: see text]