Abstract
BackgroundCurrent strategies in cancer treatment have markedly increased the rates of remission and survival for cancer patients, but are often associated with subsequent sterility. While there are various options available to an adult female depending on the patient’s particular situation, the only realistic option for preserving fertility in prepubertal females is to cryopreserve ovarian tissue. This is the first report of a morphologically mature oocyte collected from non-stimulated prepubertal ovarian tissue xenotransplants.MethodsOvarian tissue from a 6 year old patient suffering from nephroblastoma was removed and cryopreserved for fertility preservation. The frozen-thawed ovarian tissue fragments were xenotransplanted to bilaterally oophorectomized severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mice to assess follicle development.ResultsAntral follicle formation occurred post-xenotransplantation in a single ovarian fragment without exogenous hormone stimulation. A morphologically maturing oocyte was harvested from these follicles.ConclusionsPrepubertal human ovarian follicles and oocytes can be matured after xenotransplantation even without exogenous hormone stimulation. These results indicate that tissue collected from prepubertal patients can support fertility in cancer survivors.
Highlights
Current strategies in cancer treatment have markedly increased the rates of remission and survival for cancer patients, but are often associated with subsequent sterility
The few transplantation studies of frozen-thawed prepubertal ovarian tissue that have been reported indicate that these grafts can support induction of puberty in young cancer survivors [9,10] and may presumably support reproduction at the appropriate time
These results, coupled with reports of more than 24 live births resulting from ovarian tissue cryopreservation and later transplantation to women [11], demonstrate the potential of the technique to move from the experimental realm to routine clinical practice
Summary
Current strategies in cancer treatment have markedly increased the rates of remission and survival for cancer patients, but are often associated with subsequent sterility. While there are various options available to an adult female depending on the patient’s particular situation, the only realistic option for preserving fertility in prepubertal females is to cryopreserve ovarian tissue This is the first report of a morphologically mature oocyte collected from non-stimulated prepubertal ovarian tissue xenotransplants. We report here the occurrence of spontaneous antral follicle formation and oocyte maturation in an ovarian tissue transplant from a prepubescent girl (6 years old at the time of biopsy) To our knowledge, this is the first report of a morphologically mature oocyte collected from non-stimulated prepubertal ovarian tissue xenotransplants. These results further support the position that tissue collected from these young patients can support fertility in cancer survivors
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