Abstract
There is a growing concern about the fertility preservation (FP) for cancer patients of childbearing age. This study is the first in China to survey men with cancer, of reproductive age, regarding their knowledge of FP and their related needs. A 12-item cross-sectional survey was conducted of 332 male patients. The score for knowledge of FP was 3.5 ± 0.67, of a possible score of 8. Only 10.6% of the subjects had chosen to preserve fertility before treatments, but during therapy 68.7% wanted more information about FP. Younger patients were more likely have more knowledge concerning FP than older patients (odds ratio [OR] 0.86). The decision to make arrangements for FP before treatments was heavily influenced by being young and without children (OR, 0.78; OR, 0.11). Male cancer patients of reproductive age had limited knowledge of FP, and the majority was disinclined to make FP arrangements before therapy in China. Therefore, male cancer survivors should be well informed about FP soon after diagnosis and programs should be considered to improve the FP-related knowledge of male cancer survivors. We suggest that an assessment of patients’ understanding of FP issues, before treatment, should be standard in clinical work.
Highlights
According to the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship, an individual is considered a cancer survivor from the time of diagnosis until death from any cause [1]
79.7% of the men in the present study stated that they were informed on fertility issues, more than 70% were unclear about sperm banking or how long they should wait to conceive after cancer treatment
We suggest that male cancer survivors be treated by a multidisciplinary team of oncology physicians, reproductive endocrinologist, and oncology nurses who are familiar with fertility preservation (FP)
Summary
According to the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship, an individual is considered a cancer survivor from the time of diagnosis until death from any cause [1]. This definition of a cancer survivor is widely recognized by many authors [2]. With advances in cancer treatment, the survival rates of cancer patients have considerably improved, and increasing attention has been turned to the issue of long-term quality of life of cancer survivors. Treatments for cancer, can affect patients’ ability to have children, and fertility is an important aspect of quality of life for cancer survivors of reproductive age [3, 4]. Many cancer survivors report a strong desire to maintain fertility and prefer to have their own biologic children [8,9,10]
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