Successful infertility treatment in a cancer patient with a significant personal and family history of cancer.
BACKGROUND
Infertility can be a devastating problem for a couple desperate to conceive. Unfortunately, these same women with infertility also bear the burden of an increased risk of ovarian and breast cancer. We present a case of a woman with infertility who persevered despite a personal and family history of cancer to achieve her goal of having a family.


METHODS
The patient's father had died of breast cancer at an early age. The patient had been unsuccessfully treated for infertility elsewhere before transferring to our institution. A diagnostic laparoscopy revealed an early ovarian cancer treated by oophorectomy only.


RESULTS
After a period of observation, infertility treatment was resumed, leading to the successful cesarean delivery of triplets. Although recurrent ovarian cancer was diagnosed at delivery, the patient remains disease free, with three healthy children, 4 years after optimal tumor reductive surgery for stage IC low malignant potential ovarian cancer.


CONCLUSIONS
Infertility patients with significant cancer issues may achieve a term delivery and remain disease free for a meaningful length of time with the assistance of their physicians.
Chalian
Raffi
R
Imperial College, School of Medicine, London, England.
Licciardi
Fred
F
Rebarber
Andrei
A
Del Priore
Giuseppe
G
D000328:Adult; D018284:Cystadenocarcinoma, Serous / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007247:Infertility, Female / Q000628:therapy*; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D011247:Pregnancy; D011252:Pregnancy Complications, Neoplastic / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D012307:Risk Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D014310:Triplets