Abstract
Objective: Fertility preservation stands before us as an issue of quality of life for cancer patients and their partners and families. Therefore, the object of the present study was to determine the extent of the knowledge that hematologists have about fertility preservation and to understand their attitudes and practices regarding this matter. Materials and Methods: A total of 25 hematologists participated in a survey. The questionnaire included questions on sociodemographic characteristics and awareness concerning the subject of fertility preservation, as well as questions designed to determine the extent of the knowledge that hematologists had on the subject and to understand their attitudes and practices in this context.Results: Of the participants in the study, all expressed their awareness of the adverse effects that the various treatments they were prescribing could have on fertility; 2 (8%) revealed that they had never heard of the concept of fertility preservation. Of the participants, 19 (76%) indicated that they did not have adequate knowledge about fertility preservation, but 22 (88%) fortunately expressed a need for acquiring more knowledge about the subject. Of the respondents, 23 (92%) said that they did not have any brochures or published resources on this subject and stated their belief that if hematologists did have such documents, they would have more opportunity to discuss the various fertility preservation options with patients. All of the participants in the survey supported the idea of the Turkish Society of Hematology publishing a guidebook on this subject and organizing a session on fertility preservation in their regular congress.Conclusion: Meeting the needs of hematologists for training and knowledge in the subject of fertility preservation and ensuring the development of appropriate attitudes and practices in this area is an important issue. The Turkish Society of Hematology may play a significant key role.Conflict of interest:None declared.
Highlights
The advances made in providing effective treatment options and the steadily increasing percentage of cured patients or of patients with 5-year life expectancies in hematological malignancies have brought the subject of such patients’ quality of life into the foreground [1]
A total of 16 male (64%) and 9 female (36%) hematologists responded to the questionnaire
4 (16%) worked at private hospitals, 2 (8%) at state hospitals and at trainingresearch hospitals, and 19 (76%) at university hospitals
Summary
The advances made in providing effective treatment options and the steadily increasing percentage of cured patients or of patients with 5-year life expectancies in hematological malignancies have brought the subject of such patients’ quality of life into the foreground [1]. With the development of combination chemotherapies and steady improvements in more effective treatment modalities, today the 5-year survival rate of patients with Hodgkin’s lymphoma has reached a level of 90% [5]. It is known, that many types of treatment used in Hodgkin’s lymphoma or other hematological malignancies have a gonadotoxic effect [3]. Fertility problems appear before us as a major quality of life issue in the case of young patients with this disease [5]
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